The Real Life Aftermath
by arysa13
Summary: Sequel to Total Drama Ten Years Later! Set 10 months after the finale. Pairings include Duncney, Gidgette, Aleheather, Gwent and basically anything I mentioned in the first story!
1. All Dressed in White

**Note- hi everyone! as you may realise this is a sequel to Total Drama Ten Years Later! I got a few requests asking for a follow up so I decided to do it. I don't have much of a clear outline of where this is going and it probably won't be as good as TDTYL but I hope you enjoy in anyway!**

**Chapter One – All Dressed in White**

**_Exclusive Interview with Alejandro and Heather Burromueto and pictures of their adorable twins!_**

_**So Heather, Alejandro, it's so great to see you after all this time! And we get to see Sebastian and Gabriella for the first time. Those names are quite tame in comparison to some other celebrities, why did you choose them?**_

_**A: **__Gabriella is my mother's name and Heather thought of the name Sebastian while competing on the last season of Total Drama. _

_**Speaking of Total Drama, Heather, there have been some rumours that you may be taking over as host now that Chris McLean has retired. Is there any truth there?**_

**_ H: _**_I'd rather not comment on that at this time. Can we get back to the children please?_

_**Of course, sorry! How do you find raising children in the limelight? It must be difficult.**_

**_ H: _**_Not really. I mean, they aren't bothered by it. Fame is what Alejandro and I are good at. Not to mention, we both survived several seasons of Total Drama. Raising our children in front of the world is a piece of cake compared to that._

Courtney puts down the magazine.

"Heather, this article doesn't really show you in a great light," she says into the phone.

"At least I didn't tell her the kids are with the nanny most of the time!" Heather defends. "Who cares anyway? Not like one stupid article is going to change people's opinions of me. I was kind of annoyed they asked about to hosting thing though, they were specifically asked not to!"

"So are you going to do it?" Courtney asks.

"Yes! Except apparently they're still trying to choose between me and this other person. They won't tell me who the other person is either!" Heather stamps her foot.

"Tragic. Look, I've got to go, Bridgette isn't up yet and I've got to get her ready for the wedding," Courtney says, ready to hang up.

"I still don't see why I'm not in the bridal party for their dumb wedding!" Heather pouts.

"Maybe because you hate them and think their wedding is dumb?" Courtney suggests. "You're lucky you're even invited."

"But we used to party together! Geoff and I are tight, 'cause we're both famous still." Heather says. Courtney just rolls her eyes.

"Goodbye Heather! See you at the wedding!" she says, ending the call. She goes into the bedroom where Bridgette is still sleeping. Courtney and Bridgette had spent last night at Bridgette and Geoff's beach house, where the wedding is being held, while Geoff had stayed at their place in the city. Courtney had tried to push Bridgette into a more formal wedding but she has to admit it is beautiful here on the beach.

Courtney goes to the window and flings open the curtains before jumping on top of Bridgette.

"Wake up, Mrs. Geoff Kennard!" she laughs as Bridgette opens her eyes groggily.

"Not yet!" she smiles. "What time is it?"

"It's nine o'clock, you should have been awake hours ago! But I decided to let you sleep. Get up, Gwen and Leshawna will be here soon!" Courtney slides off the bed. "Get in the shower!" Bridgette does as she is bid and Courtney flies downstairs as she sees Gwen's car pull up. Gwen waves as she and Leshawna get out of the car.

"Hi Gwen, hi Leshawna!" Courtney calls merrily. Leshawna barges past her with her bags and into the house.

"Enough with the niceties, let's get this show on the road!" she grumbles.

"What's up with her?" Courtney asks Gwen.

"Got dumped. Yesterday." Gwen whispers sadly. They follow Leshawna inside and Courtney helps Gwen take her bags to her room.

"This place is enormous!" Gwen marvels. "How many people are staying here tonight?"

"Just the bridal party and their partners. You can have the room I was in last night, Duncan and I will take Bridgette and Geoff's room since they're heading off on their honeymoon straight away." Courtney tells her. Gwen nods and they dump the bags and go to find Leshawna. They find both Leshawna and Bridgette in Bridgette's room. Bridgette is wrapped in a towel and looks slightly freaked out.

"Are you okay?" Courtney asks.

"Oh my god Courtney, it's ten past nine, the photographer's coming at ten thirty and I'm naked!" the normally calm Bridgette stresses.

"Calm down Bridge, stressing is my job!" Courtney says. "Alright, it's action time girls! Bridgette, put some underwear on! Leshawna, get started on her hair and make-up while Gwen and I set up outside!" Courtney commands. Leshawna nods and Courtney and Gwen exit the room.

Courtney and Gwen gather the things they need to set up outside and head out to the beach.

"The weather's perfect. She's so lucky!" Courtney sighs. She and Gwen stand on the deck that has been specifically built for this wedding. It's in the shape of a hexagon, about three metres wide, with a wrought iron archway standing in the middle. The archway has been covered artificial blue flowers, though from far away you can't tell they're not real. Around the deck are chairs facing the arch, where the guests would sit. Courtney, Bridgette, Geoff and Duncan had spent yesterday afternoon setting up the chairs. Courtney is quite impressed with the layout, it had been her idea to set the chairs in a circle rather than in rows.

"What do we need to do?" Gwen asks. Courtney gestures along the beach a little way where there are several round tables surrounded with chairs.

"Set the tables and set up the speakers and microphone for the speeches." She leads Gwen over to the tables and tells her how it needs to be done.

"I sure hope the tide doesn't come in…" says Gwen glancing at the ocean.

"Clearly, we've thought about that! Honestly Gwen." Courtney rolls her eyes.

* * *

Leshawna finishes her own make-up as the boys and the photographer arrive.

"They know they have to stay outside, right?" Bridgette asks Courtney. Courtney nods. Gwen watches from the window as Geoff, Duncan, Tristan and Xavier get out of one car, the photographer gets out of another and out of the last one, Geoff's brother Lance and his wife and two kids appear.

"Alright, hurry up and get dressed everyone!" Courtney orders. She, Gwen and Leshawna exit the room to go and get their dresses on and leave Bridgette to it. The bridesmaid dresses are pale blue, Bridgette's favourite colour. They are made of simple cotton and have a modest neckline and cap sleeves, but the back is cut out of them and they reach mid-thigh, swishing around the girls legs. The shoes are wedges, not high, as the wedding is on a beach after all. The bridesmaids all have their hair up in buns with the front braided and have little diamond studs in their ears. After they're dressed, Leshawna, Courtney and Gwen rush back to Bridgette's room to see how she's going. All three of them stop dead when they see her standing in her wedding dress. It is similar in style to the bridesmaids dresses, only it's made of white lace, with a white slip underneath. Leshawna has done her blonde hair in beach waves with little blue flowers strewn through it, and she's wearing the tiara Courtney won in Total Drama Ten Years Later.

"Do I look okay?" she asks.

"Honey, you look ten million times better than okay, you look a million bucks!" Leshawna smiles for the first time that day.

"Geoff is going to die." Gwen says. Bridgette smiles.

"Have you got everything?" Courtney asks.

"Something old," Bridgette gestures to her engagement ring, which had been Geoff's grandmothers, "something new," she indicates the dress, "something borrowed," Courtney's tiara, "and something blue," she points to the flowers. At that moment, Geoff's niece, Willow, rushes in wearing her blue flower girl dress, followed by her mother and the photographer.

"I've just been taking photos of the setting, do you mind if I get a few of you girls as if you're getting ready?" she asks. She gets a few forced shots of Leshawna pretending to do Bridgette's hair and make-up and the girls smiling, as well as a couple of Bridgette in her dress. Courtney looks at the clock on the bedside table, as her watch doesn't really go with the bridesmaid dress.

"Half an hour till the ceremony starts," she lets everyone know. She glances out the window to see Geoff's parents arriving, as well as some other guests. Bridgette's mother, Lorraine, walks in the room then. Since Bridgette hadn't spoken to her father in fifteen years, her mother is the one giving her away. She's dressed in a slightly darker blue than the bridesmaids.

"Oh, Bridgette, you look so beautiful!" she says, tears filling her eyes as she gives her daughter a hug.

"Mom, your make-up will run!" Bridgette scolds. The photographer snaps a picture of the touching scene.

"Oh, since when do you worry about things like that?" Lorraine says, pulling away and wiping the tears from her eyes.

"It's Courtney's fault!" Bridgette laughs.

"How are you feeling?" asks Lorraine.

"My stomach is full of butterflies!" Bridgette confesses. The girls all giggle.

"That's natural, sweetie! I'm so happy for you!" Lorraine smiles. She hugs her daughter again, then pulls the other girls and the photographer in for a group hug.

"Me too, me too!" Willow says. Bridgette picks her up and swings her around, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"One day!" she laughs.


	2. Then Comes Marriage

**Chapter Two – Then Comes Marriage**

"Don't worry, man, it's only for life!" Duncan slaps Geoff on the back.

"I'm not worried. Not about that anyway, I've wanted to marry Bridgette since I first met her. I'm just afraid of forgetting my vows or something screwing up the wedding or looking like an idiot." Geoff says.

"You'll be fine!" says Duncan. "I've got to go inside now. Good luck!" Duncan leaves Geoff standing with the celebrant on the deck under the decorated arch. The guests start to sit down in the seats around the deck and Duncan walks inside, followed by Tristan and Xavier, Geoff's friends and other groomsmen. They wait just inside the door for the girls to come down. Leshawna and Gwen are first down and they take their places with Tristan and Xavier.

"You girls look great!" says Tristan, taking Leshawna's arm.

"Thanks," says Gwen, Leshawna does her best to smile despite her nasty break up only the night before.

"Where's Courtney?" Duncan asks.

"I'm here!" she calls from the top of the stairs. Duncan's breath catches in his throat as he sees her standing there. Courtney smirks at the awestruck look on Duncan's face as she descends the stairs.

"Like what you see?" she winks, giving him a kiss.

"You have got great legs. What are you doing later?" Duncan says, trying to sound cool.

"Ugh, you're so vile!" she says, giving him a light smack on the arm.

"Well, you asked, sugar!" he says, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her to him, sticking his tongue down her throat.

"You two disgust me! There are children present!" Leshawna scolds, indicating Willow who has just come down the stairs with her brother Liam. Duncan and Courtney pull away from each other sheepishly and Courtney giggles as she wipes the lipstick from his face. Leshawna and Gwen look at each other in disgust.

"Is Bridgette ready yet?" Gwen asks.

"She should be down soon," Courtney replies. Sure enough Lorraine soon leads Bridgette down the stairs. The three guys stare at her with their mouths open, until Leshawna shuts them up.

"What's the matter with you three? She's a person, not a zoo exhibit! Now close up those mouths before I close them for you!" she demands. The boys close their mouths.

"You look beautiful, Bridgette," says Xavier.

"Geoff is going to die," Duncan agrees.

"That's what I said!" Gwen says. Courtney shoots her a dirty look. Although she has forgiven both Duncan and Gwen for the events that happened during and after World Tour, she still gets annoyed if Duncan and Gwen ever happen to agree with each other. She picks up three white tiger lilies from where they are resting on a table by the door and shoves one forcefully at Gwen and hands Leshawna the other one, keeping the last one for herself. She then hands Bridgette a blue tiger lily with a smile.

"Okay, start the music," Courtney commands. Tristan hits play on the iPod that has been connected to the speakers outside and "Lucky" by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat starts playing. Outside, Geoff's heart tightens, knowing he's about to see his bride.

Lorraine tells Willow and Liam to hold hands and gestures for them to walk outside. The children do as they are bid and Duncan takes Courtney's arm and leads her through the doors of the beach house. The guests turn to look at them as they walk down the make-shift aisle towards the deck. Geoff smiles nervously at Duncan who grins back. Duncan glances at Courtney and who is clutching his arm with one hand and holding the tiger lily to her chest with the other. She also has an enormous smile on her face as she looks around the guests. She looks so happy you'd think it was her own wedding. Gwen and Xavier are right behind them, followed by Leshawna and Tristan. The photographer snaps pictures of all the couples as the walk down the aisle. As the bridesmaids and groomsmen reach the arch, the boys stand beside Geoff and the girls stand opposite him, to await Bridgette. She looks nervous but she's smiling as Lorraine leads her from the house. Everyone's gaze is focussed on the beautiful bride but Duncan glances at Geoff to see his reaction and it does indeed look like he's going to die.

"Oh my god, do I actually get to marry her?" he whispers hoarsely to Duncan. Duncan just laughs. Bridgette reaches the arch and Lorraine goes to sit down.

"Welcome everyone!" the celebrant begins. Geoff manages to drag his eyes from Bridgette and face the celebrant. "On behalf of Geoff and Bridgette, I would like to thank you all for coming today to witness their marriage. It is a rare thing to find someone you love so completely, and I can tell just by looking at these two that they will have a long and happy life together." Bridgette drops one of her hands from her lily and entwines her fingers with Geoff. The celebrant laughs. "You aren't really meant to hold hands yet, but I suppose I can let this one slide!" the guests all titter and the celebrant continues. "Somebody once told me, chance is like lightning and love is like thunder, so make sure you two hold onto each other. Can I have the rings please?" Duncan steps forward and hands the rings to the celebrant. The celebrant hands one to Geoff and one to Bridgette. Bridgette hands her lily to Courtney and she and Geoff turn to face each other. "Geoff, it's time to say your vows."

Geoff grabs Bridgette's hands and holds the ring up to her left hand. He looks into her eyes and prays that he will actually be able to speak.

"Bridgette," he starts, relieved something has come out of his mouth. "I have loved you since the first moment I met you on TotalDramaIsland. We've been through so much together and I know you're the babe for me. I promise I will always be true to you, I will always put you first and I will never stop checking you out when you wear a bikini." Geoff grins and slips the ring onto her finger. The guests all laugh again and the celebrant gestures for Bridgette to say her vows.

"Geoff, you are my best friend and I love you so much. I promise to love you through all our ups and downs, to never forget that we were made for each other and to forgive you when you're being a complete idiot." Bridgette vows and puts Geoff's wedding ring on his finger.

"Geoff, do you take Bridgette Olsen to be your lawfully wedded wife?" the celebrant asks.

"I do," says Geoff.

"And Bridgette, do you take Geoff Kennard to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do!"

"Then I now declare you husband and wife, you may now kiss!" the celebrant announces. Geoff grabs Bridgette and pulls her in for a kiss, not holding back in the slightest.

"Ugh! I told them to keep it short and sweet for this part!" Courtney whispers to Gwen.

"This is Geoff and Bridgette we're talking about," Gwen points out.

"I suppose you're right," Courtney grins, "the celebrant looks a little uncomfortable though…" she and Gwen giggle. The celebrant coughs awkwardly and Geoff and Bridgette finally break apart.

"If you'll follow me, we can go and sign the marriage certificate now," the celebrant leads them back into the house to sign the certificate. The photographer and a couple of others who want to take pictures follow but most people just stay outside.

After the certificate has been signed the guests congratulate the bride and groom and the bridal party, Geoff's family and Bridgette's mother go off along the beach with the photographer to get photos taken. After posing till they're sore the photographer gets the Geoff, Bridgette and their bridal party in the ocean to get some photos. They all take off their shoes and the guys rid their jackets and ties and roll up their pants.

"Do we have to do this?" Courtney complains. "We still have the reception to get through, I don't want to be all sandy."

"Courtney, we're on a beach." Gwen rolls her eyes.

"Fine! But don't get my dress wet, okay?" she warns, specifically looking at Duncan.

"Course princess, would I do that to you?" he winks. She gives him a shove with her shoulder as she walks past him and wades into the water till it's halfway up her calves. The others follow her and the photographer gets a few shots.

"Okay, I think we're done here!" the photographer smiles.

"Finally, I've been waiting to do this!" Duncan says, bringing his arm back and into the water, showering Courtney with sea water.

"Duncan!" Courtney yells. "You promised!" she shoves him with all her might and, caught off guard, Duncan falls back into the shallows. Courtney smirks and puts her hands on her hips as the others laugh at Duncan's misfortune. She turns to walk out of the water but Duncan grabs her arm.

"Oh no, don't think you're getting off that easily, darling!" he says, pulling her into the ocean with him. She shrieks as she hits the water. The others laugh hysterically at Courtney and Duncan sitting there soaking wet.

"Oh you think that's funny do you?" Courtney glares. She stands up and the others look at each other nervously, wondering if they are about to get a verbal beat down. Instead, however, Courtney pushes Leshawna and Gwen into the water, splashing Tristan and Xavier in the process.

"Don't get Bridgette's hair!" Leshawna yells as Geoff joins in the water fight. "Bridgette, if you get in this water I swear I'll never speak to you again!" Bridgette obliges but makes sure the photographer gets some shots of her friends acting like idiots.

"Speaking of hair, look what you did to mine!" Courtney frowns down at Duncan who is still just sitting in the shallows.

"Oh shut up, you're such a princess!" he grins and pulls her back into the water so he can kiss her.

"Do those two ever do anything else?" Leshawna says, pointing a thumb at the couple making out in the water.

"Sometimes they fight…" Gwen shrugs.

"Guys, we better go back to the house, the reception should be starting soon and we all have to be introduced properly," Bridgette says.

"Can we really go looking like this?" Tristan asks.

"Sure, dude!" says Geoff, "It's a beach, half the guests are probably in their swimsuits and in the ocean right now!"

The group pick up their belongings from the beach, heads back to the house and enters through the side door. The guests by now are sitting at the round tables that Courtney and Gwen set up earlier. The bridal party stand behind the door that leads to the beach and await their introduction.

"Who did you guys end up getting to MC?" Leshawna asks. Bridgette and Geoff look at each other nervously. At that moment a head pops in the door.

"Are you guys ready?" Chris McLean says. They all nod and Chris goes back outside.

"Seriously?" Leshawna states. "You got Chris to MC? What is wrong with you guys?"

"Now, introducing our bridesmaids and groomsmen, Gwen, Xavier, Leshawna and Tristan!" Chris announces and the four that have been called head out to the beach. "The maid of honour, Courtney and the best man, Duncan." Courtney and Duncan walk outside and head towards the bridal table. "I don't know if you guys saw the last season of Total Drama, but it was dramatic! You should have seen these two…" Chris says into the microphone. Courtney shoves him as she walks past and he shuts up. "And now for our lovely guests of honour, the bride and groom, Bridgette and Geoff!" Bridgette and Geoff come out of the house and the guests all cheer.

Once they're all seated, the entrée is brought out of the beach house kitchen by some waiters.

"See, I told you the guests would be getting in the water too!" Geoff says to Tristan, pointing out Izzy and her boyfriend Don, whose clothes are also soaking wet. It's obvious most of the children have been swimming too, and Lindsay and Tyler are both in their swimsuits along with a few of the other guests. The air is warm anyway, and their clothes and hair are already starting to dry.

After the entrée and main meal have been devoured, Chris announces that it is time for the speeches. The waiters make sure everyone has champagne and Bridgette's mother, Lorraine, takes the microphone from Chris and reads from a piece of paper.

"Good evening everyone. Thank you so much for coming to Bridgette and Geoff's wedding, it means a lot to them and to me. For so long it has been just Bridgette and I in our little family, and as much as I loved her with all my heart and loved spending time with her, I always worried that she wasn't getting all the love she deserved. When she told me she was auditioning for TotalDramaIsland I was happy that she'd get the chance to meet some new people, but I never dreamed she'd meet someone as lovely and perfect for her as Geoff here. Geoff and his family have been so welcoming to Bridgette and to me, and I can't thank you enough for treating Bridgette like one of your family. Geoff and Bridgette you are such a beautiful couple and Geoff, I know you will take excellent care of my daughter. I love you both," Lorraine smiles. Geoff grins and gives Bridgette a small kiss as the guests clap. Chris takes the microphone from Lorraine and calls Duncan up.

"Geoff and Bridgette…" Duncan starts. "I was there when Geoff and Bridgette first met. Geoff acted like a total idiot trying to get Bridgette to like him, and his attempts usually failed. Despite Bridgette thinking Geoff was an imbecile, he stayed loyal to her and refused to vote her off against my advice, and eventually won her over. For some reason Bridgette has stayed with him despite all the things he's done wrong, like becoming a total diva when he was hosting the Total Drama Action Aftermath, among other things, and not to mention the time he accidentally married Blaineley in Vegas, but found out later he was never really married to her. Geoff, you really are a special kind of stupid." Duncan chuckles.

"That was your fault man!" Geoff yells. Duncan shrugs.

"It all worked out in the end though because we stand here today to celebrate this great man's hard work, as he is now married to the girl of his dreams. Congratulations man," Duncan raises his glass and everyone else follows. "To Geoff and Bridgette!" Duncan sits down and Chris takes the microphone again.

"Now it's time for Geoff and Bridgette's first dance. Trent come up here," Chris motions to Trent to join him and Geoff and Bridgette walk over to the deck where they were married. The arch has been removed so there is room to dance. Trent plugs his guitar into an amp and Chris sets the microphone up on a stand in front of him.

"This is a song I wrote specifically for Geoff and Bridgette for this moment," Trent says into the microphone and begins to play.

"It all started one Summer, when I was sixteen. I was just a kid, didn't know what love means. But somehow when I looked up and saw you, something inside of me just knew…" Trent sings a soft ballad and Geoff and Bridgette slow dance with the guests looking on. "Love is the ocean on a stormy day, beautiful and terrifying, it sweeps you away. Love is a handmade gift from the heart, it's fragile and sometimes can be smashed apart. But it doesn't matter what you think it is, 'cause I know, I know love is this," Trent sings. There is a short guitar solo where Chris announces that other couples can join the bride and groom if they so wish. Duncan grabs Courtney's hand and leads her to the dance floor. Xavier goes to his boyfriend Gordon and they join the others. Tristan holds his hand out to Gwen, since Trent is indisposed. Leshawna sighs as she watches Tyler and Lindsay, Izzy and Don and even Noah and Owen get up to dance.

"Everybody's got somebody but me," she says to herself sadly, downing her fourth glass of champagne and pouring another.

"Love is like being pelted with hail, it hurts and it seems like you're gonna fail. Love is like being sprayed by a skunk, sometimes it stinks and you wish you were drunk." Trent continues his song. Leshawna looks around to see if anyone else isn't dancing and notices Harold sitting by himself so she finishes her glass of champagne, pours herself another one and goes to join him.

"Hey sugar! Where's your girlfriend? Lisa, right?"

"Oh, she couldn't make it. She's competing tomorrow and wanted a good night's rest," Harold says.

"Competing in what exactly?" Leshawna asks.

"Gymnastics. She's a gymnast." Harold tells her.

"So she's probably tiny with a flat butt!" Leshawna laughs.

"Yeah, she's pretty different from you, but I love her," Harold says.

"Hmph." Leshawna huffs and drinks her own champagne and Harold's.

"I've got some exciting news… Lisa didn't want me to tell anyone but I'm really excited and I know I can trust you… she's pregnant!" Harold bursts out. Leshawna spits out the champagne she'd been about to swallow.

"Pregnant?" she blurts, shocked. "Oh, that's great, honey!" she quickly recovers.

"Yeah, it's awesome." Harold smiles.

"If she's pregnant, should she really be doing gymnastics?" Leshawna wonders.

"She's only 3 weeks pregnant. Heather was competing in Total Drama at 2 months so I think it's fine," Harold assures. "But just keep this between us, okay? I don't want Duncan to find out, gosh!" Leshawna nods.

"You wanna dance, baby?" she asks.

"Alright, I can show you my awesome moves!" Harold says enthusiastically as they get up and head to where the others are dancing.

"Love is like being in an electric chair, sometimes it's like being mauled by a bear. Love isn't easy, it drives you insane, it can leave you standing in the pouring rain. But I know it's worth it, because I have you and I know that love can be amazing too. It doesn't matter what they say about love, I know I love you and that's enough," Trent finishes his song and Chris returns the music to the iPod they were playing.

"I wanted them to get a band, but they thought it was too much effort." Courtney says to Duncan as they walk back to their table.

"I doubt they would have wanted to play in the sand anyway," Duncan says.

"They could have played on the deck!" Courtney huffs.

"I'll tell you what else was too much effort, these table decorations. They're completely pointless!" Duncan gestures to a centrepiece that consists of white tiger lilies and blue forget-me-nots.

"Duncan, I made those!" Courtney says.

"Well, they're stupid." Duncan tells her.

"Not as stupid as you!" Courtney retorts.

"Oh nice comeback, princess, what are you five years old?" Duncan rolls his eyes.

"Maybe my IQ has been lowered by spending too much time with you!" Courtney snaps and storms off. Duncan sighs and follows her.

* * *

"This wedding is lovely and all, but at my wedding, the bridesmaids wore pink, and they stood out so much more." Lindsay tells Justin, Heather and Alejandro.

"I know, Lindsay, I was wearing one." Heather rolls her eyes.

"Right, but like, don't you think my wedding was so much more classy? This is nice but where's all the shiny ball gowns and pretty lights? This feels more like just a beach party!" Lindsay complains. Heather groans and leaves the table, pulling Alejandro with her.

"I hear what you're saying, and I totally agree. This wedding is definitely not focussed enough on me." Justin nods. "I mean, I've known these people for ten years and I don't even get a mention? I guess that's what you get for being too good looking, people think that you'll steal their thunder. Which I would, of course." Justin shakes his head. Lindsay glances at Tyler, confused, as Justin seems to have entirely missed the point of what she's saying. Tyler shrugs.

"Want to go swimming?" he suggests. Lindsay nods and they leave Justin.

* * *

Courtney is steadfastly ignoring Duncan and instead is listening to Sierra tell her and Geoff all about her new baby who she's very upset to leave with her mother.

"He's only six months old so Codykins convinced me to leave him with my mom. I brought Vera though, isn't she sweet?" Sierra points to her table where Cody sits with Vera on his lap, talking to one of Geoff's brothers.

"Yeah, she's gorgeous dude," Geoff grins. Courtney also looks over and sees Bridgette talking to Alejandro and Heather behind them.

"Geoff," she nudges him and points her head in their direction. Geoff sees who she's indicating and turns back to Sierra.

"I haven't said hello to Heather and Alejandro yet, I better go do that," he excuses himself and heads over to Bridgette.

"What was that about?" Duncan asks Courtney as he watches Geoff approach Bridgette and put his arm around her possessively.

"So, Sierra, how old is Vera now?" Courtney ignores Duncan and continues talking to Sierra. Duncan rolls his eyes and decides to leave Courtney alone for a while. He notices Leshawna laughing with Izzy, Eva, Noah and Owen so he goes to join them.

"What's up guys, having a good time? Good to see you laughing Leshawna," Duncan says.

"Weddings are dumb! This whole thing is dumb, and I hate Bridgette!" Eva snarls.

"Then why are you even here?" Duncan asks.

"Katie made me come, she wanted to spy on Sadie." Eva spits.

"I… have had a lot of alcohol!" Leshawna laughs.

"Me too!" agrees Izzy.

"Leshawna was just telling us how she's going to open up her own 'alcohol making shop'," Noah rolls his eyes.

"Duncan! I have a feeling I was meant to tell you something!" Leshawna thinks for a moment. "Oh yeah! Harold said to tell you, his girlfriend is pregnant!" she laughs. "Or was it that I wasn't meant to tell you?"

"Seriously? I didn't think that skinny idiot had it in him!" Duncan snickers. "Where is he, I better go and congratulate him," Duncan looks around, sees Harold and goes to say who knows what, but it probably isn't congratulations.

"Aw, I wish I was pregnant!" Izzy says. "I don't want kids though, no way!"

"I wish I was pregnant too!" Owen agrees. "I do want kids though…" he says glancing at Noah.

"You can't get pregnant, you're a guy!" Noah tells him.

"You want kids too though, right?" Owen asks. Noah shrugs.

"Maybe," he says. Their conversation is interrupted by Harold storming over.

"Aw come on Dorkahontas! I was only kidding!" Duncan calls after him.

"Leshawna! You said you wouldn't tell anyone!" Harold says angrily.

"Aw, I'm sorry baby! I got mixed up… let me give you a kiss of apologizingness!" she slurs, puckering her lips up.

"No, Leshawna, I don't want to kiss you! Gosh!" Harold storms away towards the beach house. Leshawna gets up to follow him but immediately trips over her chair.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" Izzy asks. Leshawna groans but doesn't say anything.

"We should probably take her inside…" Noah says. Owen grabs Leshawna's arms and Eva grabs her legs and they carry her inside.

"Alright everybody, it's time to cut the cake!" Chris announces. The cake is brought out and Geoff and Bridgette cut it together with the photographer taking snaps of them.

* * *

At about 11pm Geoff and Bridgette say their goodbyes and head to the airport to catch their plane to Australia for their honeymoon. After they're gone most others leave too until it's just the bridal party left. Gwen and Trent sit cuddled up inside on the couch with Leshawna who is feeling sorry for herself. Gordon and Xavier have already gone to bed. Tristan walks in from outside.

"Do not go out there, Courtney and Duncan are going at each other and it isn't pretty…" Tristan warns.

"And by going at each other you mean…" Trent prompts.

"They're fighting," Tristan says, plopping down on the couch beside Leshawna. "Is she okay?" he asks.

"She will be," Gwen assures him. Courtney storms into the house, slamming the door behind her. "Is everything alright?" Gwen asks her.

"No! Duncan is being a total asshole, as usual!" Courtney complains.

"What did he do this time?" Trent asks.

"He told me that my centrepieces were stupid, then he had the nerve to tell me that I look tired!" Courtney rages.

"Wow, that is… horrible…" Trent glances at Gwen with a smirk, thinking how ridiculous Courtney is being.

"Now that you mention it, you do look kind of tired…" Gwen says.

"Ugh, maybe that's because I hardly slept last night!"

"Would someone shut that rich girl up, Leshawna's head is pounding," Leshawna groans.

"Because you were worried about the wedding?" Trent asks, ignoring Leshawna.

"Something like that," she snaps. Duncan walks in and Courtney gives a cry of frustration and storms upstairs.

"Hey Duncan, want to watch a movie or something?" Gwen asks.

"Nah, I've got to get to her while she's still yelling or else she'll just ignore me for the rest of the night," Duncan grins and follows Courtney upstairs.

"Maybe we should just go to bed," Trent suggests.

"What about Leshawna?" Gwen says.

"I'll look after her, you two can go to bed," Tristan says. Gwen and Trent smile at him gratefully and go to the bedroom they'll be sleeping in. They pass Courtney and Duncan's room which is right next to theirs and hear something crash against the wall.

"At least it hit the wall and not Duncan's head…" Trent says as they enter their room.

* * *

"You insensitive jerk! Do you ever think about anyone but yourself?" Courtney screams.

"Do you ever shut up?" Duncan yells back.

"Do you ever think before you speak?"

"I don't need to, I never get the chance to because you're always talking!" Duncan retorts.

"Fine, do you have something to say?" Courtney shouts.

"Yeah, I hate that dress and you should take it off!" Duncan yells.

"Fine!" Courtney throws her dress to the ground and stands there in her underwear.

"Well, what next?" she snaps.

"Come here." Duncan commands. Courtney walks over to him and he grabs her roughly and starts kissing her. She throws her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist and kisses him back as he walks over to the bed.

"I'm sorry I said your centrepieces were stupid," he whispers as he puts her down on the bed.

"I'm sorry I overreacted," Courtney replies as Duncan quickly removes his shirt and resumes kissing her.

* * *

"They're silent… do you think they killed each other?" Trent asks Gwen. His question is answered when they hear Courtney's moans coming through the wall. "Clearly not!" he laughs.

"Oh my god!" Gwen laughs along with him.

"Well… this is awkward." Trent says as Courtney's moans get louder.

"Oh shut up Courtney, he's not that good!" Gwen rolls her eyes. "I cannot sleep with that going on!"

"Well maybe we could…" Trent raises his eyebrows suggestively.

"Ew no! Not while they're doing it!" Gwen hits him with a pillow.

"We could go for a dip in the ocean?" Trent suggests instead.

"Alright, let's go!" Gwen kisses him and runs out the door leaving him to follow her.

**Note - Hey all hope you like this chapter, please review! More drama to come! xx**


	3. The Morning After

**Note - Hi again! Okay so in this chapter I am pretty much just setting up things to come, so I hope it isn't too boring! Please feel free to offer any suggestions for what you'd like to happen as I only have a vague idea of where this is going and I really don't know how long it's going to be. Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter Three – The Morning After**

Duncan sits at the breakfast table with Trent, Xavier and Gordon, as Gwen and Courtney have gone for a walk along the beach and Leshawna and Tristan are still asleep.

"That was some wedding, huh?" Trent muses.

"Yeah it was pretty nice," Duncan agrees, taking a sip of orange juice.

"You must be next, right?" Xavier elbows Duncan, who immediately splutters and chokes on his juice.

"Uhh, what are you talking about, Xave?" Duncan says, after recovering.

"Marriage, you idiot," Xavier rolls his eyes.

"Come on Duncan, you can't honestly expect to be with Courtney and never get married," Trent points out. "That girl has probably had her wedding planned since she was eight years old."

"Yeah, but… what about you?" Duncan says, changing the subject slightly.

"Oh, I'm gonna marry Gwen." Trent says plainly.

"Really, when?" Duncan asks.

"Soon maybe," Trent shrugs. Courtney and Gwen arrive back from their walk and join the boys in the dining room. Gwen goes and sits on Trent's lap and gives him a kiss on the cheek.

"Aren't you two sweet?" Gordon observes.

"Way too sweet for me!" Duncan says and leaves the table and heads upstairs. Duncan is about to walk into his room when he sees Tristan exiting one of the rooms.

"Uhh, isn't that Leshawna's room?" Duncan asks.

"Yes, shh. Please don't tell the others!" Tristan begs.

"Did you two…?" Duncan starts.

"Kind of. Let's just keep this between us, okay?" Tristan says again.

"Keep what between you two?" Courtney says, coming up behind Duncan.

"Nothing!" Tristan says quickly.

"Tristan here was in Leshawna's room last night," Duncan tells Courtney.

"Duncan!" Tristan says angrily.

"Hey, I'm not keeping secrets from her, she'll kill me!" Duncan defends.

"You and Leshawna?" Courtney raises one eyebrow.

"Tristan and Leshawna?" Gwen butts in, coming up the staircase.

"Nothing happened, okay?" Tristan assures them.

"You just said it kind of did," Duncan accuses.

"It kind of did? What does that even mean?" Courtney says.

"Can we not talk about this now?" Tristan says.

"Talk about what now?" Trent now enters the conversation.

"Tristan and Leshawna did it last night," Gwen tells him.

"No we didn't!"

"What didn't you do?" Xavier asks as he and Gordon come up the stairs.

"Nothing!"

"Tristan just came out of Leshawna's room," Duncan fills them in.

"Great, just great." Tristan shakes his head. Leshawna comes out of her room and is faced with a crowd of people.

"What the heck is going on out here?" Leshawna demands.

"What was Tristan doing in your room last night?" Courtney asks her.

"None of your goddamn business! Now get outta my way, I need some breakfast, stat!" Leshawna barges through and everyone scatters. Tristan shrugs and follows her downstairs.

After breakfast they all pack up their things and leave the beach house to return to their homes. Leshawna sits in the front seat with Gwen driving while Trent sleeps in the back.

"So, you and Tristan?" Gwen asks after sitting in silence for fifteen minutes.

"It wasn't like that," Leshawna tells her.

"What was it like then?"

"He was just looking after me and I tried to make a move, but he said it wasn't a good idea. He was right, of course. He just stayed in my room to make sure I was okay." Leshawna explains.

"Are you okay?" Gwen wonders. Leshawna shrugs.

"I'm sad, you know. I want to be angry because I know how to handle that, but I just feel kind of deflated. I hate men!" Leshawna huffs.

"You're better off without him anyway. One day you'll find someone who really loves you," Gwen assures her.

"Someone loved me once. He doesn't now though, that's for sure," Leshawna sighs.

"Harold?" Gwen asks. Leshawna nods.

"I miss that skinny freak," she says.

"Alright, Eva, what did you learn about Sadie at the wedding?" Katie asks. She's sitting at her kitchen table across from Eva, with a notepad in front of her and a pen in her hand.

"I don't understand why we're doing this." Eva complains.

"Because, I need to know what she's doing!" Katie snaps.

"Maybe you should ask her then!" Eva retorts. "I've got better things to do than sit around and talk about some dumb girl who has the most boring life ever!"

"So she has a boring life then? Did she tell you that?" Katie asks eagerly, writing on her notepad.

"I'm leaving before I flip this table." Eva gets up.

"Wait, Eva! What else did Sadie say? Did she say anything about me?" Katie calls after her, but Eva just keeps walking. Katie sighs and looks at her notepad on which she's written, _Sadie, life boring. _"More like 'without Sadie, life boring,'" she says to herself. She glances at the phone, wondering if Sadie still has the same number. She shakes her head and the notion to call Sadie leaves her.

Owen knocks on the door of Noah's study.

"Yeah," Noah calls and Owen enters. "My parents are coming over soon, you should probably go." Noah says, looking up from the papers he's grading.

"Are you ever going to tell them we're living together?" Owen asks sadly.

"They're still getting used to the fact that I like guys. I don't know how they'd take it if they thought about us living together… I mean they know what goes on between people who live together," Noah explains.

"They like me though, right?" Owen asks nervously.

"Yeah of course, who wouldn't like you?" Noah assures him, before returning his attention to his work.

"Hey, Noah?" Owen asks.

"Mmm?" Noah responds without looking up.

"You know what we we're talking about at the wedding?" Owen continues.

"What?" Noah says absentmindedly.

"About… children." Owen says. Noah looks up.

"Yeah…" he says hesitantly.

"Do you ever want them?" Owen questions. Noah thinks for a moment.

"I suppose I do… but it's a bit harder for us than for straight couples," Noah says finally. "And I've got to get my parents to be totally accepting first."

"You know, I used to think you didn't care what anyone else thought of you, and I thought that was pretty great," Owen says.

"Owen, I don't care what people think! It's just…" Noah starts to defend himself.

"I wasn't saying it was a bad thing that you care what your family thinks. I think it's nice. I want them to accept you as well," Owen smiles and leaves Noah to his work.

As soon as she's home Heather runs to Sebastian and Gabriella's room where they are sleeping soundly. Alejandro and the nanny follow her.

"You shouldn't wake them Mrs. Burromuerto," the nanny tells her. Heather glares at her and she immediately exits the room. Heather carefully picks up Gabriella, trying not to wake her.

"I've missed you," she whispers, kissing her on the forehead. "Get Sebastian will you?" Heather tells Alejandro. Alejandro lifts Sebastian out of his crib and brings him over to Heather. She sits in an armchair by the window and shifts Gabriella to one arm so she can hold Sebastian.

"I can hold Sebastian for now, until you are ready to put Gaby down," Alejandro suggests. "I'm sure he won't mind."

"No I want both of them!" Heather insists, so Alejandro carefully places Sebastian in Heather's other arm. She smiles at her children and Alejandro smiles to himself, thinking how Heather would hate anyone to find out how nurturing she truly is.

"If you get this hosting job, how will you leave them?" Alejandro asks. Heather looks up at him.

"I hadn't thought of that… you don't suppose they'd let me take them on set?" she ponders.

"I doubt it," Alejandro laughs, "besides, would I let you take them away from me?" Heather sighs.

"I'll figure it out when the time comes. They're still trying to choose between me and whoever else they're considering. If only I knew it was, I could sabotage them!" Heather scowls.

"Ah yes, I don't doubt it. What a shame, _soy el que._" Alejandro strokes her head.

"Alejandro, you know I don't speak Spanish!" Heather says.

"I know, but you really should learn. You don't want me having secret conversations with our children about you, do you?" he asks. Heather pokes out her tongue. "_Te amo, _Heather," he smiles and leaves the room.

"Well, I know what _that _means," she smiles to herself.

"Trent, you aren't going to believe this," Gwen says, hanging up the phone.

"What is it babe?" Trent says, looking up from where he is playing with Eddie on the floor.

"That was the guy from the art gallery I was telling you about," Gwen tells him, walking over and sitting on the floor beside him, curling her feet up under her. "He said he'd like to feature some of my stuff in his next exhibition!"

"Wow that's great! When is it?" Trent enthuses.

"It's the Wednesday night after next," Gwen says.

"Will you be able to get it off work?"

"Yeah, I'm sure I'll be able to," Gwen nods.

"Did you hear that, Eddie? Your mom's going to be a famous artist!" Trent says to Eddie. Gwen hits Trent's shoulder lightly.

"Don't tell him that, he'll get excited!" Gwen says. However, Eddie isn't paying the slightest bit of attention as he is too busy trying to build a tower out of blocks.

"I got you a present!" Duncan grins as he walks in the door of the penthouse he shares with Courtney.

"What is it this time?" Courtney says warily. Duncan throws a magazine at her.

"It has Justin on the cover! Remember that time he had a crush on you and you almost kissed him?" Duncan laughs. Courtney rolls up the magazine and hits him with it.

"Will this ever end?" Courtney sighs.

"You love it! I know you keep them all," Duncan says, referring to all the other magazines he's bought her. Whenever he sees a magazine with an article about one of her ex boyfriends, or guys she'd kissed during Total Drama.

"It's because I want to be able to find them when I dump your ass!" Courtney tells him, taking it into the bedroom and putting it in a pile with the others. Mostly they are of Justin but there's some of Alejandro, a couple of Scott and even one of Cameron.

"Sure you do," Duncan winks as Courtney walks back into the living room. They both know she keeps them because they're from him and she secretly thinks they're funny, he can see her trying to hide a smile right now.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" Courtney asks, changing the subject.

"I've got to go make sure everything's going according to plan for the tournament on the weekend," Duncan replies, grabbing her hands and pulling her close to him.

"Are you driving or just watching this time?"

"I'm not competing but I think I might get out there just for fun." Duncan says. "I better make sure Courtney 2 is ready for action!" Duncan refers to his monster truck.

"Are you ever going to let me drive it? It is named after me." Courtney says.

"No way, I already told you. You can drive one of the ones I don't care about. And it's not _it, _it's _her_," Duncan refuses.

"Ugh, I swear you love that dumb truck more than you love me," Courtney pulls away.

"Hmm, you might be right…" Duncan chuckles.

"You aren't supposed to agree!" Courtney hits him in the chest.

"Courtney 2 would never hit me," Duncan points out.

"If you love it so much, maybe you should just marry it!" Courtney jokes.

"Wait, what?" Duncan says worriedly.

"I was joking you idiot!" Courtney smiles. "Honestly, what is wrong with you?"

"Nothing," he says, kissing her gently.

**Chapter Three – The Morning After**

Duncan sits at the breakfast table with Trent, Xavier and Gordon, as Gwen and Courtney have gone for a walk along the beach and Leshawna and Tristan are still asleep.

"That was some wedding, huh?" Trent muses.

"Yeah it was pretty nice," Duncan agrees, taking a sip of orange juice.

"You must be next, right?" Xavier elbows Duncan, who immediately splutters and chokes on his juice.

"Uhh, what are you talking about, Xave?" Duncan says, after recovering.

"Marriage, you idiot," Xavier rolls his eyes.

"Come on Duncan, you can't honestly expect to be with Courtney and never get married," Trent points out. "That girl has probably had her wedding planned since she was eight years old."

"Yeah, but… what about you?" Duncan says, changing the subject slightly.

"Oh, I'm gonna marry Gwen." Trent says plainly.

"Really, when?" Duncan asks.

"Soon maybe," Trent shrugs. Courtney and Gwen arrive back from their walk and join the boys in the dining room. Gwen goes and sits on Trent's lap and gives him a kiss on the cheek.

"Aren't you two sweet?" Gordon observes.

"Way too sweet for me!" Duncan says and leaves the table and heads upstairs. Duncan is about to walk into his room when he sees Tristan exiting one of the rooms.

"Uhh, isn't that Leshawna's room?" Duncan asks.

"Yes, shh. Please don't tell the others!" Tristan begs.

"Did you two…?" Duncan starts.

"Kind of. Let's just keep this between us, okay?" Tristan says again.

"Keep what between you two?" Courtney says, coming up behind Duncan.

"Nothing!" Tristan says quickly.

"Tristan here was in Leshawna's room last night," Duncan tells Courtney.

"Duncan!" Tristan says angrily.

"Hey, I'm not keeping secrets from her, she'll kill me!" Duncan defends.

"You and Leshawna?" Courtney raises one eyebrow.

"Tristan and Leshawna?" Gwen butts in, coming up the staircase.

"Nothing happened, okay?" Tristan assures them.

"You just said it kind of did," Duncan accuses.

"It kind of did? What does that even mean?" Courtney says.

"Can we not talk about this now?" Tristan says.

"Talk about what now?" Trent now enters the conversation.

"Tristan and Leshawna did it last night," Gwen tells him.

"No we didn't!"

"What didn't you do?" Xavier asks as he and Gordon come up the stairs.

"Nothing!"

"Tristan just came out of Leshawna's room," Duncan fills them in.

"Great, just great." Tristan shakes his head. Leshawna comes out of her room and is faced with a crowd of people.

"What the heck is going on out here?" Leshawna demands.

"What was Tristan doing in your room last night?" Courtney asks her.

"None of your goddamn business! Now get outta my way, I need some breakfast, stat!" Leshawna barges through and everyone scatters. Tristan shrugs and follows her downstairs.

After breakfast they all pack up their things and leave the beach house to return to their homes. Leshawna sits in the front seat with Gwen driving while Trent sleeps in the back.

"So, you and Tristan?" Gwen asks after sitting in silence for fifteen minutes.

"It wasn't like that," Leshawna tells her.

"What was it like then?"

"He was just looking after me and I tried to make a move, but he said it wasn't a good idea. He was right, of course. He just stayed in my room to make sure I was okay." Leshawna explains.

"Are you okay?" Gwen wonders. Leshawna shrugs.

"I'm sad, you know. I want to be angry because I know how to handle that, but I just feel kind of deflated. I hate men!" Leshawna huffs.

"You're better off without him anyway. One day you'll find someone who really loves you," Gwen assures her.

"Someone loved me once. He doesn't now though, that's for sure," Leshawna sighs.

"Harold?" Gwen asks. Leshawna nods.

"I miss that skinny freak," she says.

"Alright, Eva, what did you learn about Sadie at the wedding?" Katie asks. She's sitting at her kitchen table across from Eva, with a notepad in front of her and a pen in her hand.

"I don't understand why we're doing this." Eva complains.

"Because, I need to know what she's doing!" Katie snaps.

"Maybe you should ask her then!" Eva retorts. "I've got better things to do than sit around and talk about some dumb girl who has the most boring life ever!"

"So she has a boring life then? Did she tell you that?" Katie asks eagerly, writing on her notepad.

"I'm leaving before I flip this table." Eva gets up.

"Wait, Eva! What else did Sadie say? Did she say anything about me?" Katie calls after her, but Eva just keeps walking. Katie sighs and looks at her notepad on which she's written, _Sadie, life boring. _"More like 'without Sadie, life boring,'" she says to herself. She glances at the phone, wondering if Sadie still has the same number. She shakes her head and the notion to call Sadie leaves her.

Owen knocks on the door of Noah's study.

"Yeah," Noah calls and Owen enters. "My parents are coming over soon, you should probably go." Noah says, looking up from the papers he's grading.

"Are you ever going to tell them we're living together?" Owen asks sadly.

"They're still getting used to the fact that I like guys. I don't know how they'd take it if they thought about us living together… I mean they know what goes on between people who live together," Noah explains.

"They like me though, right?" Owen asks nervously.

"Yeah of course, who wouldn't like you?" Noah assures him, before returning his attention to his work.

"Hey, Noah?" Owen asks.

"Mmm?" Noah responds without looking up.

"You know what we we're talking about at the wedding?" Owen continues.

"What?" Noah says absentmindedly.

"About… children." Owen says. Noah looks up.

"Yeah…" he says hesitantly.

"Do you ever want them?" Owen questions. Noah thinks for a moment.

"I suppose I do… but it's a bit harder for us than for straight couples," Noah says finally. "And I've got to get my parents to be totally accepting first."

"You know, I used to think you didn't care what anyone else thought of you, and I thought that was pretty great," Owen says.

"Owen, I don't care what people think! It's just…" Noah starts to defend himself.

"I wasn't saying it was a bad thing that you care what your family thinks. I think it's nice. I want them to accept you as well," Owen smiles and leaves Noah to his work.

As soon as she's home Heather runs to Sebastian and Gabriella's room where they are sleeping soundly. Alejandro and the nanny follow her.

"You shouldn't wake them Mrs. Burromuerto," the nanny tells her. Heather glares at her and she immediately exits the room. Heather carefully picks up Gabriella, trying not to wake her.

"I've missed you," she whispers, kissing her on the forehead. "Get Sebastian will you?" Heather tells Alejandro. Alejandro lifts Sebastian out of his crib and brings him over to Heather. She sits in an armchair by the window and shifts Gabriella to one arm so she can hold Sebastian.

"I can hold Sebastian for now, until you are ready to put Gaby down," Alejandro suggests. "I'm sure he won't mind."

"No I want both of them!" Heather insists, so Alejandro carefully places Sebastian in Heather's other arm. She smiles at her children and Alejandro smiles to himself, thinking how Heather would hate anyone to find out how nurturing she truly is.

"If you get this hosting job, how will you leave them?" Alejandro asks. Heather looks up at him.

"I hadn't thought of that… you don't suppose they'd let me take them on set?" she ponders.

"I doubt it," Alejandro laughs, "besides, would I let you take them away from me?" Heather sighs.

"I'll figure it out when the time comes. They're still trying to choose between me and whoever else they're considering. If only I knew it was, I could sabotage them!" Heather scowls.

"Ah yes, I don't doubt it. What a shame, _soy el que._" Alejandro strokes her head.

"Alejandro, you know I don't speak Spanish!" Heather says.

"I know, but you really should learn. You don't want me having secret conversations with our children about you, do you?" he asks. Heather pokes out her tongue. "_Te amo, _Heather," he smiles and leaves the room.

"Well, I know what _that _means," she smiles to herself.

"Trent, you aren't going to believe this," Gwen says, hanging up the phone.

"What is it babe?" Trent says, looking up from where he is playing with Eddie on the floor.

"That was the guy from the art gallery I was telling you about," Gwen tells him, walking over and sitting on the floor beside him, curling her feet up under her. "He said he'd like to feature some of my stuff in his next exhibition!"

"Wow that's great! When is it?" Trent enthuses.

"It's the Wednesday night after next," Gwen says.

"Will you be able to get it off work?"

"Yeah, I'm sure I'll be able to," Gwen nods.

"Did you hear that, Eddie? Your mom's going to be a famous artist!" Trent says to Eddie. Gwen hits Trent's shoulder lightly.

"Don't tell him that, he'll get excited!" Gwen says. However, Eddie isn't paying the slightest bit of attention as he is too busy trying to build a tower out of blocks.

"I got you a present!" Duncan grins as he walks in the door of the penthouse he shares with Courtney.

"What is it this time?" Courtney says warily. Duncan throws a magazine at her.

"It has Justin on the cover! Remember that time he had a crush on you and you almost kissed him?" Duncan laughs. Courtney rolls up the magazine and hits him with it.

"Will this ever end?" Courtney sighs.

"You love it! I know you keep them all," Duncan says, referring to all the other magazines he's bought her. Whenever he sees a magazine with an article about one of her ex boyfriends, or guys she'd kissed during Total Drama.

"It's because I want to be able to find them when I dump your ass!" Courtney tells him, taking it into the bedroom and putting it in a pile with the others. Mostly they are of Justin but there's some of Alejandro, a couple of Scott and even one of Cameron.

"Sure you do," Duncan winks as Courtney walks back into the living room. They both know she keeps them because they're from him and she secretly thinks they're funny, he can see her trying to hide a smile right now.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" Courtney asks, changing the subject.

"I've got to go make sure everything's going according to plan for the tournament on the weekend," Duncan replies, grabbing her hands and pulling her close to him.

"Are you driving or just watching this time?"

"I'm not competing but I think I might get out there just for fun." Duncan says. "I better make sure Courtney 2 is ready for action!" Duncan refers to his monster truck.

"Are you ever going to let me drive it? It is named after me." Courtney says.

"No way, I already told you. You can drive one of the ones I don't care about. And it's not _it, _it's _her_," Duncan refuses.

"Ugh, I swear you love that dumb truck more than you love me," Courtney pulls away.

"Hmm, you might be right…" Duncan chuckles.

"You aren't supposed to agree!" Courtney hits him in the chest.

"Courtney 2 would never hit me," Duncan points out.

"If you love it so much, maybe you should just marry it!" Courtney jokes.

"Wait, what?" Duncan says worriedly.

"I was joking you idiot!" Courtney smiles. "Honestly, what is wrong with you?"

"Nothing," he says, kissing her gently.


	4. Building Bridges

**Chapter Four – Building Bridges**

Beth wakes up groggily to the sound of her phone ringing.

"Hello?" she answers, still half asleep.

"Beth?" comes a voice.

"Yes, who is this?" Beth asks, sitting up.

"It's Katherine. I really need a favour from you," the person says.

"Katherine who?" Beth says, searching her brain.

"Katherine Brownstein," Katherine huffs. Beth is silent, the name not ringing any bells. "From Total Drama?" Katherine prompts.

"Katie?" Beth asks incredulously.

"Yeah! Anyway, I need your help!" Katie says.

"Katie, it's not even seven o'clock, can't it wait?" Beth whines.

"No! Look, you're a party planner right?" Katie asks. Beth nods before realising Katie can't see her.

"Yeah I am, why?"

"I need you to organise a TotalDramaIsland reunion!" Katie says.

"Why would I do that? I saw everyone four days ago at Geoff and Bridgette's wedding, and they're all still terrible people. I don't need to see them for another ten years, thanks," Beth rants.

"Ohh, please Beth! It will be fun!" Katie pleads.

"Why do you want a reunion so bad anyway?" Beth wonders.

"Who cares why? Will you do it?" Katie asks.

"Are you hiring my services? I'm not doing it out of the goodness of my heart," Beth states.

"Fine. So when can we start?" Katie asks.

"When I've had another hours sleep! You can come around at ten," Beth tells her.

"Thanks Beth, you're the best!"

* * *

"Hey, Gwen," Duncan says when Gwen opens the door with Eddie in her arms.

"Oh, hi Duncan. Trent isn't here," Gwen says.

"Uh, I came to talk to you actually," Duncan says.

"Really, why?" Gwen raises an eyebrow.

"We're friends, and I need your advice," Duncan says. "So can I come in?"

"Okay…" Gwen steps aside to let him in. "Look Duncan, I know we're friends and all but Trent kinda freaks out at the thought of me being alone with you. So let's make it quick okay?"

"Why, doesn't he trust you?" Duncan says, sitting at a stool at the bench.

"He trusts me, he just doesn't trust you," Gwen tells him.

"What? But Trent and I are friends!" Duncan protests.

"He trusts you in all other respects, just not around me," Gwen rolls her eyes. "Can we just get on with it? What do you need my advice about?" She puts Eddie down and sits in the stool next to Duncan.

"Courtney," Duncan answers.

"I should've guessed," Gwen rolls her eyes again. "What about her?"

"Do you… do you think she wants to marry me?" Duncan asks. Gwen looks at him as if he is the dumbest person in the world.

"Uh yeah, obviously. Courtney has had her wedding planned since she was like eight," Gwen says.

"That's what Trent said. And yeah I know she has, and I know she wants to get married… but what I meant was, do you think she wants to marry me, specifically?" Duncan asks. Gwen looks at him, surprised at his insecurities seeping through his normally cool façade. It seems it's always Courtney that makes that happen.

"Duncan do you honestly think she'd waste her time with you if she didn't intend to marry you?" Gwen says.

"I don't know… I mean she always jokes that I'm not her type… but what if she's not joking. I know deep down she can do way better than me," Duncan admits. Gwen can see how hard it is for him to voice these fears so she puts her hand on his shoulder kindly.

"Duncan, trust me. Courtney is in love with you and she wouldn't want to marry anyone else," she smiles.

"Her mother hates me," Duncan says.

"Knowing Courtney, that probably makes her like you even more," Gwen laughs.

"Okay, thanks Gwen." Duncan smiles. "Now that we've had that conversation, I have to ask for another favour."

* * *

"You want to have the party less than two weeks from now? You're insane," Beth shakes her head at Katie.

"Why is that so insane?" Katie demands.

"You're not giving people enough notice! No one will come. Not to mention it's going to be hard to find a venue, a band and a caterer that aren't already booked!" Beth informs her.

"People will come. As for the venue, we can ask Heather if we can have it at her house. We'll get the Drama Brothers, or Lindsay, or Trent or all of them to play, and DJ can take care of catering!" Katie says, having it all worked out.

"This is a terrible idea," Beth says.

"Beth, I'm paying you for this so you better do it! This is what I want, so this is how it's going to be!" Katie tells her.

"Wow, I never knew you were so bossy and mean!" Beth complains.

"Well, now you know, so let's get to work!" Katie snaps. Beth picks up her phone hurriedly and dials Heather's number.

* * *

Gwen and Duncan end up spending the day together, watching movies, playing with Eddie and catching up.

"Shouldn't you be working?" Gwen asks.

"I'm my own boss, I do what I want," Duncan smirks. "What about you?"

"It's my day off," Gwen replies.

"Are you going to tell Trent I was here?" Duncan asks.

"Yeah, of course. He might be upset but it's better if I tell him. Will you tell Courtney?" Gwen questions.

"Yeah, I doubt she'll care I was here," Duncan shrugs. The door opens and Trent walks in.

"Hey, Trent," Duncan says. Gwen gets up off the couch and walks over to Trent and gives him a kiss.

"Hey, babe. Hey, Duncan. What's up?" Trent asks.

"Not much, we've just been hanging out. It's been a hell of a long time," Gwen laughs. Trent is surprisingly calm about the whole thing.

"Cool. I bought take out, do you want to stay for dinner, Duncan?" Trent asks.

"Holy shit, is that the time already?" Duncan scrambles to his feet. "Courtney's going to kill me," Duncan races out the door without saying goodbye.

"He is going to be in so much trouble," Trent laughs, taking the Chinese food out of the bag he's holding.

"You don't mind he was here do you?" Gwen asks.

"Nah, of course not. I trust you. I mean, I feel a little weird about it if I'm being totally honest, but my therapist has really helped me out with my trust issues and all that. Plus we aren't sixteen anymore, that whole thing with Duncan is water under the bridge," Trent smiles.

"I sure hope Courtney feels the same way…" says Gwen doubtfully.

"So what did you guys talk about?" Trent asks.

"Courtney, mostly," Gwen laughs.

* * *

Duncan curses to himself as he opens the door to the penthouse. How could he let time get away like that, especially on a Wednesday. On Wednesdays Courtney always made an effort to come home early or at least on time from work so she can cook dinner. Most other nights they order in or go out or sometimes Duncan cooks, although Courtney usually complains about something when he does.

"Finally!" she says when he walks in the door. "Dinner's almost ready. Seriously, where have you been?"

"I was at Gwen's" Duncan says, sitting down at the dinner table. Courtney stiffens at Gwen's name.

"All day?" she asks.

"Yeah… I had to talk to her about something." Duncan explains.

"Oh." Courtney says shortly. "Was Trent there?" she asks casually.

"No, I left when he got home," Duncan says. "You're okay with me hanging out with Gwen, right?" he asks slowly.

"Of course," Courtney says, but her body language says different.

"If you've got a problem, tell me. It's not like you to hold back," Duncan rolls his eyes.

"I just don't see why you suddenly feel the need to hang out with Gwen. You've barely spoken to her since you two broke up." Courtney says.

"Maybe it's time to mend bridges and all that," Duncan says defensively.

"And you happened to go over there when Trent wasn't home?" Courtney snaps.

"You don't trust me!" Duncan accuses.

"Maybe because you're not acting very trustworthy right now! You spend the whole day with a girl you used to date? A girl who you cheated on me with once before no less!" Courtney yells.

"A girl who I used to be friends with! Who you're friends with for god's sake!" Duncan shouts.

"This isn't about me, it's about you and your inability to stay away from a certain goth!" Courtney snaps.

"One, she's not a goth anymore, and two, it is obviously about you and your stupid insecurities. You're being paranoid!" Duncan retorts.

"I don't have any insecurities! And how dare you accuse me of being paranoid? The last time I suspected you of having feelings for Gwen I was right!"

"Are we seriously back here? I thought we were past all this!" Duncan yells exasperatedly.

"So did I!" Courtney storms into the bedroom and slams the door. She rips off her clothes and turns the shower in the ensuite on full blast, making sure the water is running before she allows herself to cry. She leans against the wall and sobs heavily.

Duncan grabs his jacket and keys and walks out the front door.


	5. Love and War

**Chapter Five – Love and War**

"Is it your lunch break yet?" Heather asks, strutting into Courtney's office. Courtney glances at the clock which reads 12:30.

"I guess," Courtney shrugs.

"Great, let's go." Heather says. Courtney grabs her bag and they head out to a café nearby. Heather has lunch with Courtney on her lunch break every Thursday and today is no different.

"You look horrible," Heather notices as they sit down at a table.

"I didn't sleep at all," Courtney replies.

"Why? What's wrong?" Heather finally notices that Courtney isn't quite herself.

"Duncan and I had a fight," Courtney sighs.

"Oh, well what's new?" Heather says with a flick of her hair. "You guys always fight, that doesn't explain why you didn't sleep or why you look so miserable today."

"He spent yesterday with Gwen," Courtney says.

"Ugh, I hate her. Do you think he's cheating on you? Because I will kill him if you want me to," Heather promises.

"No! I don't think he's cheating on me, that's the thing. When he told me I kind of freaked out and acted stupid. He accused me of not trusting him, when I do… it's just I wasn't expecting it, and I was already annoyed that he wasn't home when he said he would be. I'm so over the Gwen thing, or at least I thought I was. But I just don't know why he would have to see her anyway. Even if I'm not completely over it, why doesn't he understand? I lost him to her once before, I couldn't bare if it happened again," Courtney explains.

"I assume you didn't tell him all this," Heather guesses correctly. Courtney shakes her head.

"I had a shower to cool off," says Courtney, not wanting to admit she'd cried about it, "and when I got out he was gone. I haven't seen him since, I don't know where he is," Courtney says worriedly.

"Have you tried calling him?" Heather asks.

"No…" Courtney admits.

"Ugh. Courtney, you have too much pride for your own good!" Heather scolds.

"Oh, like you wouldn't do the same!" Courtney retorts. A waitress brings their meals over.

"So if you didn't spend the night looking for him, why do you look like crap?" Heather asks.

"Thanks for that," Courtney rolls her eyes.

"You're avoiding the question. Is it something embarrassing? Did you stay up watching romantic comedies and eating ice-cream?" Heather presses.

"No… ugh it's stupid." Courtney says. Heather looks at her expectantly. Courtney sighs. "I just… I don't sleep when he's not there," Courtney confesses.

"Seriously?" Heather asks, surprised. "Strong, independent Courtney can't sleep without her man?"

"I knew you'd mock me." Courtney says angrily. "This is why I usually talk to Bridgette about this kind of thing."

"Sorry. It's cute." Heather says.

"It's not cute, it's horrible and depressing!" Courtney moans, putting her head in her hands.

"I'm sure if he knew he never would have left. He probably just went to Geoff's or something," Heather reassures.

"Geoff's in Australia on his honeymoon, remember?" Courtney reminds her.

"Right…" Heather nods. "Are you worried?" she doesn't have to say _that he's with Gwen _for Courtney to know what she means.

"I can't believe they'd do that to me twice… but he might go there just to spite me," Courtney says.

"Do you want me to try and find him? I can ring him and pretend I'm looking for you," Heather suggests.

"No, it's fine. I'm sure he'll be home tonight, sorry as ever," Courtney says. "Thanks for listening, anyway."

"What are friends for?" Heather smiles. "So anyway, are done with this conversation? 'Cause I have something to complain about," she says.

"Sure," Courtney laughs.

"It's so weird, Beth called me yesterday." Heather rolls her eyes.

"Really, why?"

"She's organising a TotalDramaIsland reunion. She wants to have it at my house," Heather says, disgusted.

"What did you tell her?" Courtney asks.

"I said I'd think about it. She needs to know by today though because she's planning it for the weekend after next," Heather says.

"Strange, I wonder why she's so eager for a reunion? I thought she kinda hated all of us," Courtney muses.

"I don't think she's behind it. By the sounds of it someone else has hired her to plan the party," Heather says.

"Chris, maybe?" Courtney wonders.

"Maybe… I don't see why he'd get Beth to do it though or why he'd want it at my house," Heather shakes her head.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

* * *

"It's going to be fine, Noah." Owen reassures his boyfriend. Noah looks at him sceptically. "The sooner we get this over and done with, the sooner we can start living our lives normally. I don't want to have to hide every time your parents come over." Noah sighs and nods. He gets out of the car and Owen does the same and they walk to the front door of Noah's parents' house. Owen has finally convinced Noah to tell his parents that they're living together. Noah knocks on the door and waits nervously till his mother answers the door.

"Noah," she smiles and gives him a hug. "Owen," she nods politely and leads them inside.

"Hi, Mom. Is Dad here?" Noah asks.

"Yes, yes, I'll go and get him." Noah's mother rushes of to find her husband. Noah and Owen sit in the living room anxiously awaiting her return. Noah's father walks into the room smoking a pipe. He nods at Owen much the same way his wife did.

"Noah, why are you here? We saw you on the weekend," he says sitting down.

"Nice to see you too, Dad," Noah rolls his eyes. "I thought Mom said you aren't supposed to smoke inside." His Dad just shrugs. Noah's mother returns then with a tray of drinks.

"That's really not necessary, we're not staying long," Noah says. "We just came because… I have to tell you something." He glances at Owen. Owen nods encouragingly. "Owen and I… are living together." Noah confesses. Both his parents are silent for a moment.

"But you aren't married!" his mother finally bursts out.

"Uh, what?" Noah asks, dumbfounded.

"How could you live with someone you aren't married to?" his mother scolds.

"Well… wait. That's what you're worried about?" Noah shakes his head in confusion.

"Of course!"

"So you're saying you'd be fine with it if I married Owen?" Noah asks suspiciously.

"Yes!" Noah's mother says. "We know you are gay and we don't care, but please still stick by the morals we raised you with!" she pleads.

"It's the twenty first century, Mom. It's kind of what couples do now." Noah informs her.

"But it isn't how we raised you!"

"Dad?" Noah turns to his father, realising he hasn't said anything yet.

"Do what you must, Noah. The truth is we suspected you were gay long ago. It was still a shock to us, but you know we want you to be happy. If you want to keep your mother happy though, you should probably get married," he says. Noah is utterly shocked at this reaction. They were even calmer than when he told them he was gay. Although to be fair, they had found out from Courtney revealing the fact on national TV. Noah turns to Owen.

"Well, do you want to get married?" he asks.

"For real?" Owen says.

"Yeah, I mean, if you want to." Noah says nervously.

"Do you want to?" Owen asks. He doesn't want to marry him just because his mother is putting pressure on him.

"Yeah, I do," Noah smiles.

"Okay," Owen agrees. Noah's mother squeals in delight.

"We're going to have a wedding!"

* * *

Gwen picks up Eddie from his play date with Zoey and Mike's son Jamie. He's a little older than Eddie but they get along well. Before going back on Total Drama Gwen hadn't seen Zoey or Mike in years but at the finale they got to talking and Gwen remembered how much she liked them. It had been Zoey's suggestion for Eddie and Jamie to play together. Zoey is also very pregnant and is due very soon, so she's home from work and is able to look after both Eddie and Jamie when Gwen is at work.

Once back in her apartment she gets to work on cooking dinner.

"Mommy?" Eddie says.

"Yeah, Ed?" Gwen replies.

"Where's Daddy?" he asks. Gwen stops what she's doing and looks at him. She sighs. She's been hoping she had a few years before Eddie started asking about his father. She supposes he got the idea from Jamie, after all Mike is nearly always around. She has always thought that once Eddie asked though she would tell him the truth. She doesn't want to ever lie to her kids.

She sits Eddie down and prepares to have this conversation about how his father left and doesn't want anything to do with him. In a much nicer way, of course.

"Eddie… your Daddy… he…" she starts. Eddie looks at her seriously. How can she phrase this? Is he too young to understand? Just then Trent walks in. "Oh thank god," Gwen says. "Trent you have to help me!" she urges. Trent looks at her worriedly. Eddie jumps off the couch and runs to Trent with his arms open.

"Daddy!" he says happily, as Trent scoops him into his arms.

"Wait, what?" Gwen says, surprised. Trent looks equally surprised.

"Did he just…?" Trent questions. Gwen nods. Gwen never calls Trent Dad for Eddie. She always calls him Trent, and Eddie had been calling him Trent up until now as well. Trent grins. "Is this okay with you?" he asks Gwen.

"Yeah," she smiles. She even has a tear in her eye. She walks over to Trent and kisses him, then she gives Eddie a kiss too. "I guess we're a real family now," she says.

* * *

Courtney races home after work, although she normally works late on Thursdays. She hasn't been able to concentrate on her work properly anyway, what with worrying about Duncan.

She pauses when she gets to the door and tries to listen to see if he's there. She hears nothing so she puts the key in the lock and goes inside. Duncan is lying on the couch drinking a beer. He has several empty bottles in front of him so he's obviously been there a while. Courtney stands in the doorway and stares at him. It's all she can do not to simply just go to him and snuggle into him and tell him she loves him and that she's sorry. But she can't do that just yet.

"Where were you?" she says instead.

"What's it to you?" Duncan shrugs. _I was worried about you, _she thinks. _I didn't know if you were coming back._

"You're drunk," she says instead.

"Observant of you," Duncan responds. "Want one?" he holds out a beer to her. She hesitates but eventually walks over and takes it from him. She hates the taste of beer but she takes a sip anyway.

"Are you going to tell me where you were all night?" she demands.

"Why should I?" Duncan says sullenly. Heather's words ring in Courtney's head. _I'm sure if he knew he never would have left. _She knows she should just tell him the truth, but even after ten months of being together she has trouble telling him how she really feels. There is a part of her that still worries that he'll just laugh at her and leave her, like last time. And him being drunk and grumpy isn't exactly helping the situation.

"Because I'm your girlfriend! You can't just leave like that and not expect me to want an explanation!" Courtney snaps. Duncan stands up.

"You want an explanation?" he says. Courtney nods. "I left because you were driving me insane with your false accusations. I came back because I thought you might like to apologise."

"You want _me _to apologise? What about you?" Courtney yells.

"You're the one acting crazy! I haven't done anything wrong!" Duncan yells back.

"Then why haven't you told me where you were yet? Were you with her?" Courtney retorts.

"_Her_? Courtney, she's not some _other woman, _she's your friend and she's my friend and you're not doing me or her or yourself any credit by jumping to ridiculous conclusions!" Duncan yells. _He's right, I know he's right, _Courtney thinks, but her pride gets the better of her.

"If my conclusions are so ridiculous then why aren't you denying them?" she spits.

"Because you know in your heart they aren't true! Calm down for god's sake! Gwen would never scream at me like this," Duncan rolls his eyes. Courtney stops screaming at him them, and he can tell by the look in her eyes that that was the absolute wrong thing to say. She doesn't even look angry any more, just totally shattered.

"Courtney…" he starts, ready to apologise for his last remark.

"Get out," she whispers.

"What?"

"Get out!" she screams.

"Courtney, please…" Duncan starts towards her. She throws her half full beer at him and it narrowly misses his head, smashing into the wall behind him.

"Leave!" she shouts again, tears forming in her eyes. "You can come and get your things when I'm at work tomorrow!"

"You can't be serious, Courtney, I love you. Don't do this," Duncan pleads. "I'm completely serious! I hate you and I don't want to see you again!" she yells, tears streaming down her face now. She turns and heads into the bedroom and sits down on the floor to bawl her eyes out. _He'll follow me this time, _she thinks. _He knows I don't mean it._ But it isn't long till she hears the front door slam behind him and she knows it will be another sleepless night.


	6. If You Just Said You're Sorry

**Chapter Six – If You Just Said You're Sorry**

Geoff and Bridgette walk into their house on Saturday afternoon after a week on the SunshineCoast. The weather had been beautiful, and they'd basically spent the week in the ocean, that is when they weren't in the bedroom.

"Back to reality," Bridgette sighs.

"Nah, not till Monday, babe!" Geoff says, turning his phone on. They'd decided they wanted to be uncontactable for the week so he's sure he'll have a thousand messages and missed calls. "Nothing!" he shakes his head. Bridgette laughs as she turns her own phone on only to find she does not have nothing. She has three messages calls from Courtney, two from Heather and one from Gwen. She quickly puts her phone to her ear to listen to the messages.

"Hey Bridgette, it's me, Courtney. I don't know what time your flight gets in, but could you call me when you get this? Bye." Courtney's voice sounds tense, although it's clear she's trying to sound breezy. The second message is from Courtney too.

"It's me again… sorry to keep calling. Just call me when you're home, okay?" She doesn't sound so breezy in the second message. The next two messages are from Heather.

"I think something's up with Courtney. Call me."

"Ugh, where are you anyway? You know it must be bad if I'm calling you. Seriously, call me." Bridgette rolls her eyes, of course Heather would have forgotten she'd been on her honeymoon. Bridgette is starting to really worry about Courtney now, because of course Heather is right, the situation must be dire if she's calling Bridgette for help. The next message is from Gwen.

"I think Courtney's avoiding me. She won't answer my calls. Have you been in touch with her? When do you get back from Australia? Give me a call when you can." The last message is Courtney again.

"Bridgette, please call me, I really need to talk to you." She sounds upset in the last message and Bridgette is about to call her when her phone rings.

"Heather?" she says, answering the phone.

"Finally! Where have you been?" Heather snaps.

"Uh, in Australia, on my honeymoon…" Bridgette reminds her.

"Oh right, that. Anyway I'm only calling 'cause I'm worried about Courtney and I thought maybe she called you. I know she likes you better than me. She won't return my calls, she didn't go to work yesterday and she wouldn't answer the door when I went around there," Heather says.

"She's been avoiding Gwen's calls too apparently. But she called me three times. I wonder what's wrong…" Bridgette says.

"It's probably about Duncan. Can you tell me when you find out?" Heather says.

"If she says it's okay…" Bridgette agrees. Heather hangs up without a thank you or a goodbye. Bridgette immediately calls Courtney who picks up instantly.

"Bridgette." She says.

"Are you alright?"

"No…" Courtney whispers. "Come over." Courtney hangs up and Bridgette is left with a sick feeling in her stomach.

"Geoff?" she calls. Geoff doesn't answer so she heads upstairs only to find him asleep in bed. She smiles before writing him a note and heading to Courtney's.

* * *

Leshawna looks through her mail, which is still sitting on her kitchen bench from yesterday. Most of it is bills, but a pink envelope catches her attention. The return address is some party planning business she's never heard of. Opening the envelope Leshawna sees that it's an invitation.

_OMG you're invited to a party!_

_It's the Total Drama Island Reunion Party!_

Leshawna rolls her eyes.

"Didn't I just see all these people?" she says to herself. The party is to be at Heather's house, although it's obvious from the way the invitation is written that Heather didn't plan the party herself. It's only a week away and Leshawna curses the short notice. She doesn't really want to go anyway, but maybe it would be a good excuse to see Harold and apologise for the way she'd acted at Geoff and Bridgette's wedding. She decides to call Gwen to see what she's doing.

"Yo, what's up home girl?" Leshawna says when Gwen answers the phone.

"Not much, what's up with you?" Gwen replies.

"Did you get this invitation to this reunion thing?" Leshawna asks.

"Sure did, are you going?"

"I thought I might. I need to apologise to Harold, he'll probably be there," Leshawna says casually.

"Is that the only reason you want to see him?" Gwen asks knowingly.

"Of course. I gotta make amends with that boy. He was a good friend to me, I'd like to be friends again." Leshawna tells her.

"Okay, but don't get yourself hurt," Gwen warns.

"You don't have to worry about me, girlfriend," Leshawna laughs. "So will you go?"

"I guess if you're going I'll go. I'll probably bring Eddie too. He called Trent Daddy the other day, it was so sweet!" Gwen says. Leshawna laughs and the two continue to catch up on the events of the past week.

* * *

Bridgette enters Courtney's penthouse timidly, unsure what she will find. The first thing she notices when she walks in is an amazing smell.

"Courtney?" Bridgette calls, following the smell to the kitchen. "Are you… baking?" Bridgette raises an eyebrow.

"Sure am!" Courtney says brightly. A little too brightly.

"Why?" Bridgette asks. Courtney shrugs.

"I thought it might be fun," she answers.

"Right. What's wrong? You sounded upset on the phone…" Bridgette says, still weirded out by Courtney's baking.

"Oh, I'm fine. I just am making so many muffins I thought you might like some," Courtney says.

"This is not normal," Bridgette says. "Seriously, Courtney, what's up?"

"What do you mean?" Courtney says in a high pitched voice.

"You look like you haven't slept in a month, you called me three times, you're acting overly happy and you're baking. Something is very, very wrong here," Bridgette says. Courtney doesn't say anything, just continues stirring the mixture she is concocting. "Heather and Gwen said you wouldn't return their calls," she continues. Courtney is silent still but she stops mixing.

"I couldn't tell them," Courtney whispers.

"Couldn't tell them what? Why couldn't you tell them?"

"Heather would just scold me for not taking her advice and if I went to Gwen I'd have to tell her…"

"Tell her what?" Bridgette presses. Courtney goes silent again and starts mixing again. "Where's Duncan?" Bridgette asks, remembering what Heather had said on the phone. Courtney looks at Bridgette, stopping what she's doing. Her lower lip trembles as she fights back tears.

"He's gone," she says simply.

"What do you mean he's gone?" Bridgette asks, worried.

"I mean I told him to leave and he did!" Courtney can't hold back the tears any longer.

"Oh, honey, come here." Bridgette holds out her arms and Courtney collapses into them, sobbing. Bridgette rubs Courtney's back for a minute before letting her go. "Take off your apron and go and sit on the couch. I'll make us some drinks and then you can tell me what happened okay?" Courtney nods and does as Bridgette suggests. Bridgette finds a bottle of vodka and some orange juice, and pours them some drinks, not bothering to measure how much vodka she's putting in. She brings the drinks over to where Courtney is sitting on the couch. Courtney takes it and takes a few sips between sobs. Bridgette patiently waits for Courtney to tell her what happened.

"Did you and Duncan fight?" she finally asks when it's obvious that Courtney isn't going to start the conversation. Courtney nods. "What did you fight about?"

"It's so stupid," Courtney finally says.

"Love is stupid," Bridgette assures her.

"On Wednesday he spent the day with Gwen… and I got mad about it. We fought and he left, but he was there the next day when I got home from work. But we fought again and he said that Gwen would never yell at him so I told him to leave, and that he could get his stuff while I was at work," Courtney says before bursting into a fresh round of tears. "I haven't slept since he left, I'm going crazy. That's if I wasn't already!"

"You aren't crazy, Court." Bridgette consoles. "I get it."

"You do?" Courtney sobs. Bridgette nods.

"Sure. He really hurt you when he got with Gwen. You don't just get over feelings like that, I know." Bridgette says.

"Then why doesn't he understand that? And why did he listen to me? I didn't really want him to go!" Courtney weeps.

"Men don't understand these things. Did he pick up his stuff like you said?" Bridgette asks.

"He must have grabbed some stuff but most of it's still here," Courtney says.

"Well, that's a good sign, right?" Bridgette says. Courtney shrugs. "Do you know where he is? Have you called him?"

"How can I call him after everything I said?" Courtney says.

"Sometimes you've got to swallow your pride," Bridgette tells her.

"I can't!" Courtney wails. "If I beg him to come back I'll look like a fool, not to mention it means admitting I was wrong, and he'll think he's done nothing wrong! Which isn't the case!"

"He loves you Court, I'm sure he'll come back soon." Bridgette assures her.

"I hope it's before I pass out from exhaustion."

"Do you want me to stay here tonight?" Bridgette asks. Courtney nods before she starts crying again and Bridgette puts her arms around her and they stay like that for a while, before Courtney somehow eventually falls asleep.


	7. How You Remind Me

**Chapter Seven – How You Remind Me**

Duncan sits in his box at the stadium on Saturday night, watching the trucks smash each other to smithereens. He knows the regular guys who rent the box next to him are wondering where Courtney is, she doesn't usually miss a match. He considers telling them she's sick, but then decides it doesn't matter what they think. _Let them wonder, _Duncan thinks. He sighs. He's spent the last two nights sleeping here at the stadium, hoping for a call from Courtney, but it never came.

"Who needs her anyway?" he says to himself. To be honest he'd been expecting – or maybe just hoping – that she would show up tonight and act like nothing had happened. _Why hasn't she called? _He thinks. _Should I call her?_ He knows they need to talk about what happened, even if it's just to find out if she was serious or not, but he knows if he calls her she'll an expect an apology and as far as he can see he hasn't done anything wrong. Except that last thing he said. That was stupid, he knows. But he refuses to be the one to call, despite the fact that he really misses her, so it looks like it's another night at the stadium, unless he can think of someone to stay with. Obviously he can't stay with Gwen and Trent, he's not a total idiot. And Geoff… wait, Geoff would be back from his honeymoon by now. Duncan feels relieved that he doesn't have to sleep on the floor again tonight, assuming Geoff will let him stay there.

* * *

Courtney's already awake when Bridgette opens her eyes in the morning. She feels a little stiff from sleeping on the couch all night but she's glad Courtney actually got some sleep.

"How long have you been up?" Bridgette asks.

"A few hours," Courtney answers. Bridgette looks at her watch which reads 7 o'clock.

"And by a few hours you mean…?" Bridgette prompts.

"Like eight maybe," Courtney says. Bridgette rolls her eyes.

"I still got like eight hours sleep, so thanks," Courtney smiles.

"How are you feeling?" Bridgette asks.

"Better, now that I've slept," Courtney replies. Bridgette nods.

"I should probably go," she says. "Will you be alright?"

"Absolutely," Courtney assures her. Bridgette is skeptical but she can't stay here all day. Plus she should probably let Heather and Gwen know that Courtney isn't dead. As soon as she leaves Courtney's place she calls Heather.

"How is she?" Heather asks.

"She's… alive?" Bridgette tells her.

"What happened?"

"Come over to my place and I'll tell you," Bridgette commands.

"Fine." Heather says, hanging up. Bridgette calls Gwen next and tells her the same thing. She hopes Courtney will forgive her for this, but these girls are her friends and they're worried about her. It's not like Courtney swore her to secrecy or anything.

Gwen arrives first, shortly followed by Heather.

"No one told me she was going to be here," Heather says when she sees Gwen.

"Get over it, Heather, we're all friends of Courtney here!" Gwen snaps.

"So, Bridgette, what did Courtney say?" Heather asks, ignoring Gwen.

"First of all, for the record, I feel really bad about telling you guys since she didn't want either of you to know, but I don't want you guys to worry about her, so that's why I'm telling you. And if Courtney asks, I'm going to say you forced it out of me." Bridgette says. Gwen and Heather both roll their eyes.

"Just tell us!" Heather demands. Bridgette takes a deep breath and begins to tell them what Courtney had revealed last night.

"I can't believe she's still mad about that! Seriously, how can she not trust us?" Gwen says, outraged.

"Gwen, you have no right to be angry at her. Get of your high horse and try acting like a friend, okay?" Heather snaps. Gwen makes a noise of protest and looks to Bridgette for support but Bridgette doesn't say anything.

"You agree with her?" Gwen says.

"This isn't about you Gwen, it's about Courtney," Bridgette tells her.

"Yeah, but it's obvious she's overreacted. All she has to do is call him and apologise and I'm sure they'll be fine," Gwen rolls her eyes.

"You're a horrible person," Heather says.

"That means a lot, coming from you," Gwen retorts.

"Stop it you two. Gwen, have a little compassion. Surely you remember what jealousy feels like? Haven't you ever felt a little insecure in your own relationship?" Bridgette asks. Gwen just shrugs.

"I don't see what the big deal is. We just hung out. Trent didn't mind," she says.

"Trent probably cried to his therapist the next day," Heather says scornfully.

"Oh would you shut up?" Gwen snarls.

"This was a bad idea," Bridgette says.

* * *

That night Bridgette lies in bed thinking about how horrible her chat with Heather and Gwen had gone. Gwen had left Bridgette's house feeling annoyed and Bridgette feels kind of bad about it, but really, what Heather said is right. Gwen doesn't really have any right to be mad at Courtney. Heather had volunteered to go and look after Courtney but Bridgette told her not to, Courtney hates to be babied.

While these thoughts are running through her head, Bridgette hears a noise from downstairs.

"Geoff," she whispers, shaking him. He groans. "Did you hear that?"

"It's probably the turtle catcher…" he mumbles.

"What?" Bridgette says, confused, before realising he must be still asleep. She rolls her eyes and gets out of bed. She grabs an umbrella as a weapon and tiptoes downstairs. She follows the noise to the kitchen where she stands in the doorway and waits for her eyes to adjust. There is definitely someone in the kitchen. She holds the umbrella behind her head ready to swing. She flicks the lights on and the person screams. Bridgette swings the umbrella, also screaming.

"Stop hitting me!" a familiar voice says.

"Duncan?" Bridgette says incredulously, ceasing hitting him with the umbrella.

"Yeah!" He says standing up.

"What in the world are you doing in my kitchen in the middle of the night?" Bridgette demands. Geoff comes running into the kitchen, having been woken by the screaming.

"What's going on?" he says.

"Your girlfriend is bashing me with an umbrella!" Duncan complains.

"I'm his wife, and what the hell are you even doing here?" Bridgette says.

"Duncan, you were supposed to stay hidden, this is your own fault!" Geoff tells him.

"You knew he was here?" Bridgette asks.

"Yeah…" Geoff says, a little sheepishly. "He didn't want Courtney to know where he was, and we knew you'd tell her if you found out," he explains.

"How long have you been here?" Bridgette asks.

"I stayed here last night, but that's it," Duncan assures her.

"You have to go home," Bridgette instructs him.

"I can't, Courtney kicked me out."

"Yeah babe, Courtney kicked him out. You can't force him to leave, he doesn't have anywhere to go." Geoff agrees.

"Geoff, you don't know anything. Go back to bed, I need to talk to Duncan," Bridgette tells him. Geoff huffs but goes back to bed. "Come with me," Bridgette says to Duncan, leading him to the living room.

"I know what you're going to say, but guess what, I'm not calling her. She's the one who told me to get out and if she wants me to come back, she can call me and beg me to come back," Duncan asserts.

"You are such an idiot, Duncan." Bridgette says, rolling her eyes.

"Wow, thanks. Did she tell you what happened?" Duncan asks.

"Yes she did," Bridgette replies.

"She probably told you her version which will most likely make me look like a horrible person, but I swear I haven't done anything wrong. She overreacted, as usual." Duncan says.

"Yes, she did. She knows she did," Bridgette tells him.

"She does? Well then, why hasn't she called me? Doesn't she know I miss her like crazy?" Duncan says.

"How is she supposed to know that if you don't tell her?" Bridgette points out. Duncan shrugs.

"This whole fight is so stupid. How can she still be hung up about the whole Gwen thing?" Duncan sighs. "I mean, Trent didn't care that Gwen and I hung out. And does Geoff ever throw the whole Alejandro thing in your face? I doubt it."

"Duncan. Geoff can't stand Alejandro. He didn't want to invite him to the wedding, and he got really pissed when I insisted we couldn't invite just Heather. I'm hardly ever around Alejandro, we aren't friends so he doesn't have to worry about it much. It's not like I even like Alejandro, we just kissed one time 'cause he was charming and hot. I never had any feelings for him, and Geoff still would hate for me to be alone with him." Bridgette confesses.

"At the wedding…" Duncan remembers. "Courtney pointed out to Geoff when you were talking to Alejandro and he immediately went over there…"

"Exactly. I think Courtney and Geoff have a kind of understanding when it comes to me and Alejandro and you and Gwen. They look out for each other," Bridgette shrugs.

"How do you know that?" Duncan asks.

"I remember once when we all went out, you went to the bar with Gwen when Courtney was in the bathroom and when she came back Geoff kind of nodded in your direction and Courtney was over there like a shot," Bridgette explains. "You kinda just confirmed my theory with what happened at the wedding."

"Doesn't it bother you that he doesn't trust you?" Duncan asks.

"Of course he trusts me. It's just a tiny insecurity he has, and it just proves how much he loves me and doesn't want to lose me. He can't help it, I get it." Bridgette says. Duncan is silent, lost in thought. "Call her," Bridgette says.

"I can't call her, it's like one in the morning. She'll be asleep." Duncan says. Bridgette raises an eyebrow.

"You don't know?" she says.

"Know what?"

"She can't sleep when you're not there," Bridgette says.

"You mean she hasn't slept in four days?" Duncan says incredulously.

"She slept when I was there, but I put a sleeping pill in her vodka." Bridgette says.

"Is that safe?" Duncan wonders.

"Safer than not sleeping for four days." Bridgette says.

"Bridgette, you are secretly crazy, aren't you?" Duncan says. Bridgette rolls her eyes.

"Just call her, she's probably baking again," she says.

"No," Duncan says, standing up.

"What? Didn't you listen to a thing I just said?" Bridgette asks.

"I'm just going to go home. I don't want to give her a chance to tell me to stay away." Duncan says. Bridgette smiles and nods and Duncan grabs his things and leaves.

He slows down as he reaches the penthouse, suddenly nervous. What is he going to say to her? What if she throws something at him again? He listens at the door and he can hear her playing the piano. The song sounds familiar but he can't quite place it. She starts singing so Duncan stays outside a little longer to listen.

"It's not like you didn't know that, I said I loved you and I swear I still do. And it must have been so bad, 'cause living with me must have damn near killed you…" she sings. Duncan realises what the song is now, although it's almost unrecognisable from the Nickelback version he's used to. "This is how you remind me," Courtney sings as Duncan walks inside. "This is how you remind me of what I really am." She turns around when she hears him enter. Neither of them speak, they just stare at each other. She's dressed in her pyjamas so she's obviously tried to sleep. She stands up and closes the lid on the piano. _Say something, _Duncan thinks to himself, _this is the part where you kiss her and say you're sorry and that you'll never leave again._

"Are you coming to bed or what?" he says instead. Courtney nods and he grabs her hand and leads her to bed. He throws his shirt on the floor and lies down and she snuggles into him, still having said nothing. They both know they need to talk, but right now they both just need a good night's sleep.

"I love you," Courtney whispers, once she thinks Duncan is asleep. "Don't leave me again, okay?"

"Okay," he whispers back, smiling.

* * *

**Note - If you haven't heard Avril Lavigne's cover of How You Remind Me you should definitely listen to it, I'm in love with it right now which is why it's in this chapter haha! Anyway thanks for the reviews! What would y'all like to see happen in chapter 8?**

**Oh and Happy Valentine's Day!**


	8. Up and Coming

**Note - Oh my god you guys I'm so sorry it has been so long since my last update! I started placement (teaching at a secondary school) and I have just been busy and exhausted so yeah sorry! I still have another week of placement so the next chapter will probably be at least a week away as well. Anyway, hope you enjoy, please review!**

**Chapter Eight – Up and Coming**

Owen eyes Noah nervously. He's been wanting to bring this up ever since Geoff and Bridgette's wedding, but he isn't really sure how Noah feels about the whole situation. But they're engaged now and Owen decides there is no time like the present.

"Noah," Owen says, interrupting Noah's reading.

"Yeah?" Noah asks, not looking up from the book.

"I have something serious to discuss with you," Owen says. Noah closes the book and puts it on the coffee table in front of the couch they're sitting on. It isn't often Owen wants to discuss serious so it obviously must be important to him.

"Go ahead," Noah says, only slightly worried. He hopes Owen isn't having second thoughts about getting married.

"Well… I was thinking… I mean… obviously we would wait till after we're married, but I just really want to know your opinion on… having kids," Owen eventually gets out.

"To be honest, I never even really thought about it until you first mentioned it. I always just figured I would never have kids. But… since you planted the seed… I have been thinking about it a little… and I think someday I would like to. Not just yet though," Noah says.

"You're right, of course. But I mean it's never too early to look at our options, since you know, if we wanted to adopt it could be years for us to be accepted." Owen says.

"Yeah, okay. I guess adoption is out only option," Noah shrugs.

"Well, I did think of another way we could do it," Owen says apprehensively.

"Really, how?" Noah asks, surprised.

"We could always find a surrogate and egg donor, so that one of us could actually be related to our child," Owen suggests.

"Don't you think it would be much harder to find an egg donor and surrogate than to apply for adoption?" Noah points out.

"I had someone in mind actually…" Owen starts. He looks at Noah, wondering how he'll take the suggestion. "At Bridgette and Geoff's wedding, Izzy said she'd love to be pregnant but that she doesn't want kids," Owen reminds Noah.

"You want _Izzy _to be the mother of our children? Your crazy ex girlfriend?" Noah says incredulously.

"She's not that crazy…" Owen tries to defend her. Noah raises an eyebrow. "Okay she's crazy. But we're still friends and I think she'd love to do something like this for us. We could make her and Don the godparents. Don is your favourite writer after all." Owen convinces.

"I don't know…" Noah says dubiously.

"It's not like we have to decide right now. But we can at least find out if she's interested," Owen says. Noah nods.

"Alright, we can do that."

* * *

Courtney opens the door to her penthouse rather nervously, knowing it's time she and Duncan actually had a proper conversation. She'd left for work that morning before he was up and obviously she's been at work all day, so this is the first chance they have to talk about what happened.

When she walks in she discovers that Duncan is making dinner. He smiles at her and she returns the smile as she goes into the bedroom to change her clothes to something more comfortable. When she comes back out Duncan has dinner on the table so she goes and sits down and starts picking at her food.

"How was your day?" Duncan asks, also picking at his food.

"It was alright, nothing particularly interesting happened," Courtney responds. "What about you?"

"Pretty much the same…" Duncan says, nodding. The sit in silence for a moment. Courtney takes a deep breath and is about to speak when Duncan beats her to it. "Courtney, I'm so sorry. I said some really dumb stuff, I didn't mean any of it. I won't see Gwen if you don't want me to," he blurts out.

"I don't want to stop you from seeing Gwen! I overreacted, I know. I just… Gwen is always going to be a little sore spot for me and I know you're friends and I don't want to be the girl who dictates who her boyfriend can and can't see… but I need you to forgive me when I get mad about it and understand that… I might need extra… attention after you spend time with her," Courtney looks down at her food again after this spiel, feeling like she sounds stupid and insecure and maybe she should have just shut up.

"Okay," Duncan says. "I can do that." He stands up and pulls her from her chair and starts kissing her urgently, wrapping his arms around her waist. She rests her hands on his cheeks as she kisses him back, suddenly tearing up. Duncan feels her tears on his face and pulls away to look at her.

"What's wrong?" he asks. She shakes her head slightly and wipes a tear away, laughing at herself.

"We hardly ever do this," she says. Duncan look confused.

"Uh… yeah we do. All the time," he says.

"I don't mean kissing. I mean actually being honest with each other and tell each other how we're feeling and what we want instead of just yelling at each other," Courtney explains.

"You're right," Duncan agrees. He looks at her seriously. "I'm sorry I say things I don't mean. I love you so much, and sometimes I honestly can't believe how lucky I am to have you when I know you could have anyone you wanted," he says. Courtney smiles.

"It's just you and me, okay? And we both have to believe in this relationship because I know so many other people don't, but I love you too, and I don't want you to ever think I think I'm better off without you. I'm in it for the long haul, and I need to know you are too," Courtney says. Duncan nods and starts kissing her again and starts undressing her slowly. He gently kisses neck down to her collarbones before lifting her up and carrying her to the bedroom and for once they make love slowly and tenderly, although with just as much passion as the angry sex they usually have, the last thing Courtney said still playing over in Duncan's mind.

* * *

Gwen invites basically everyone she knows to her art show that Wednesday. It's only her close friends, her brother and her mother that show up, however.

"Girl, you are the most talented person I know! If I had any money I'd buy a hundred of these paintings," Leshawna says after she's made he way around the gallery.

"Thanks, Leshawna," Gwen smiles. A few random strangers walk up to her and ask if she's the artist and shower her with praise.

Bridgette and Courtney walk around the art gallery with Duncan and Geoff walking behind them, although the guys aren't paying much attention to the art, instead preferring to ogle the girls' backsides as they walk. Courtney glances over to see Gwen standing alone. She spins around to face Duncan.

"Wow, this painting is so original, don't you think Geoff, it's really…" Duncan says, trying to act like he wasn't just staring at her butt. He looks at the painting he's referring to. "It's really… what is that anyway?" he asks Geoff.

"I wouldn't have a clue man," Geoff says shaking his head. Courtney rolls her eyes.

"You don't have to pretend to care about art, you idiot. Lord knows I don't care about it. Just pretend to like it, for Gwen." Courtney says.

"But not too much, right?" Duncan says, smirking. Courtney rolls her eyes again.

"I'm not going to get jealous over you pretending to like her artwork," she says snarkily. "Anyway I'm just going to talk to her," she says and leaves the other three behind.

"Hey, Bridgette, can I talk to you for a second?" Duncan asks.

"Without me?" Geoff wonders sadly. Duncan nods.

"Go and talk to Trent or something," Duncan commands.

"Hmph," Geoff says as he heads towards Trent, although he isn't really annoyed, he knows the conversation is only going to be about Courtney. "Trent, how's it going dude?" Geoff asks as he approaches Trent.

"Pretty good, man. How's married life?" Trent asks.

"Awesome, dude! Well, I mean it's not that different from unmarried life, it turns out. Except now I get to call Bridgette Mrs. Kennard and refer to her as my wife." He glances over to where she is conversing with Duncan and smiles. "So, when are you getting married?" Geoff elbows Trent in the side. Trent grins.

"As soon as possible," Trent answers.

"So are you going to propose soon then?" Geoff asks excitedly. Trent shrugs and smiles knowingly.

Meanwhile, Courtney has approached Gwen.

"Hey, Gwen. Nice work, you must be so proud," she says.

"Thanks. Yeah, I am." Gwen replies, rather coldly.

"Are you mad at me?" Courtney asks.

"Yeah, a little."

"Okay, well I really came over here to say I'm sorry. So… I'm sorry." Courtney goes to walk away.

"Seriously?" Gwen asks.

"What?" Courtney responds.

"I kind of expected you to try and defend yourself… but your apology actually sounds genuine," Gwen says.

"That's because it is. I actually do trust you Gwen, and I'm not going to try and stop you and Duncan hanging out. I overreacted, I know that. I knew it at the time, but you know me, my pride is stronger than my brain sometimes," Courtney shrugs.

"Yeah I know," Gwen laughs. "Thanks for apologising." Courtney nods and goes to head back over to Bridgette and Duncan. "Courtney?" Gwen stops her again.

"Yeah?" Courtney asks.

"We're okay, right? I mean… we're still friends, aren't we?" Gwen questions.

"Yeah of course," Courtney smiles. She knows she and Gwen will always be friends, but sometimes Gwen is way too judgemental for her. She's quick to jump to conclusions and Courtney often feels like Gwen's self righteousness is a little suffocating. "I'll see you later, Gwen," she says, and heads back over to Bridgette, a friend she knows she can always count on to be supportive.

"She's coming back!" Duncan hisses at Bridgette. "So you'll help me?" he confirms.

"Yes, of course, you idiot! Now pretend to be talking about something else!" Bridgette whispers back.

"And that's when I decided I should get a tattoo of a gorilla on my face," Duncan says as Courtney approaches. Bridgette shakes her head at him and rolls her eyes at his horrible attempt at a new conversation topic.

"Duncan if you get a gorilla tattooed on your face I will definitely break up with you," Courtney says.

"Hm, yeah, it probably isn't the greatest idea I've ever had," he agrees.

"What were you two really talking about?" Courtney asks suspiciously.

"Umm… your birthday," Duncan says. "But I can't tell you about it, it's a surprise."

"But my birthday is ages away," Courtney reminds him.

"Are you complaining that I'm thinking about it early?" Duncan asks.

"No!" Courtney grins.

"So are you guys going to this dumb reunion thing on the weekend?" Bridgette asks.

"I guess so. It's at Heather's house so she'll probably kill me if I don't show up," Courtney says. "Are you and Geoff going?"

"If you go, I'll go," Bridgette laughs.

* * *

Gwen says goodbye to the owner of the art gallery and thanks him for showcasing her work. She's sold quite a lot of paintings and she feels like her art career is actually going somewhere. Trent puts his arm around her as they walk out the door.

"Gwen," he whispers.

"Yeah?"

"I'm so proud of you," he says.

"Thanks," Gwen smiles.

"You know what I think we should do to celebrate?" Trent says.

"What's that?"

"Get married," Trent proposes casually.

"Sure, let's just go get married right now," Gwen laughs.

"I'm serious, Gwen," Trent says. He stops walking and puts his hands on her shoulder to turn her towards him. "Marry me. I love you. We don't need a big fancy wedding, let's just fly somewhere right now and get married."

Gwen stares at him in shock. For a moment Trent thinks he's made a mistake and that's she's going to reject him and run away, but finally she responds.

"Okay," she says.

"Really?" he says. "Don't say it unless you really mean it," he warns.

"I mean it. I want to marry you. I never wanted a big wedding. Let's go!" she grins. He can see her excitement building at the idea. He grabs her and kisses her and she kisses him back, laughing. Trent takes her hand and they run to his car.

"Where are we going to go?" Gwen asks.

"Wherever we want. Or we could just go to the airport and take the next flight," Trent suggests.

"Okay, let's do that." Gwen agrees. "One more thing," she continues.

"Yeah?"

"Can I wear black?"


	9. All's Well that Ends Well

**Chapter Nine – All's Well that Ends Well**

Heather walks into the TV studio at 9am on Friday morning. The producers of Total Drama have asked her to come in for a final audition. _Maybe I'll finally find out who is gunning for my job!_ She thinks.

"Hi, I'm Heather Burromuerto, I'm here for the Total Drama hosting audition," she says to the girl at reception.

"Of course, Heather. Just take a seat and I'll the producers know you're here," the receptionist says, gesturing to a couch opposite the front desk. Heather does is she is bid, taking out her phone and checking facebook to pass the time. She's waiting for about ten minutes when she hears someone else walk in the front door. She looks up to see Alejandro walking up to the front desk. She frowns in confusion.

"Alejandro, what are you doing here?" she asks. Alejandro whips his head around to face her. He looks slightly surprised for a moment before composing himself and walking over to her.

"I came to see you, of course… to wish you luck," he smiles.

"You already did that. You're meant to be looking after Sebastian and Gabriella." Heather narrows her eyes.

"They are with the nanny. I thought you would be in your audition already…" he says.

"I thought you said you came to wish me luck?" Heather says suspiciously.

"Did I say that? I meant I came to see how you went," Alejandro says.

"Seriously, what is going on here?" Heather demands.

"Heather?" the receptionist says. Heather looks over at her. "The producers will see you now. Would you like me to tell them you're here, Alejandro? Perhaps you can audition together?"

"What?!" Heather shrieks. Alejandro flinches. "_You're _the person going up against me for the job?"

"Yes… I told you!" Alejandro defends.

"No you most certainly did not, if you had, I definitely would have remembered _kicking you out of the house_!" Heather goes to slap him but he catches her wrist.

"I did tell you. It was in Spanish, but I told you!" Alejandro says. Heather glares and snatches her arm away from him.

"Hmph. Well it doesn't matter, because I'm still going to get the job!" Heather turns and stalks up the hallway to a room where the producers are waiting for her. She walks in only to find Chris McLean chatting amiably with the producers.

"Oh, hi Heather," one of the producers says, noticing her. "Thanks for coming in, but we don't need you anymore. Chris wants to come back, so we're going to go with him. Tell Alejandro, will you?"

"I can't believe you tried to steal my job!" Chris accuses.

"You quit!" Heather reminds him.

"You're so ungrateful!" Chris says before turning back to the producers. Heather gives a shriek of frustration before storming out of the building, dragging Alejandro behind her.

* * *

The door bell rings and the housekeeper hurries to open it. Katie and Beth stand there looking somewhat intimidated by the huge mansion.

"The party will be outside in the back garden, I will lead you there," the housekeep tells them, ushering them inside. "Follow me." Katie and Beth follow her through the house and out into the magnificent back garden. The housekeeper hears the doorbell and quickly leaves to answer it.

The main feature of the garden is a huge fountain which a stream runs off and into an enormous swimming pool. There is an array of multicoloured flowers everywhere and at the very back there appears to be a hedge maze.

"I told you we didn't need decorations…" Katie whispers. Heather appears behind them.

"This party better not be lame. When does the alcohol get here?" she demands.

"Uhh…" Beth starts. The housekeeper returns with DJ, his mother and a couple of other people.

"This man is the caterer. Shall I lead him to the kitchen?" asks the housekeeper.

"Yes, obviously!" Heather rolls her eyes. "Does he have the alcohol?" she follows them inside to the kitchen.

"Do you think Sadie will come?" Katie asks.

"She RSVP'd a yes, so I guess she is…" Beth replies.

* * *

"This party kinda sucks," Bridgette says to Courtney as she takes a sip of wine. "There's like fifteen people here."

"Tell me about it. Where are Trent and Gwen? I haven't seen them since her art show." Courtney replies. Bridgette shrugs.

"Where's Duncan?" Bridgette asks.

"I don't know, he was meant to meet me here because I was coming straight after work but apparently he thinks being late is fine!" Courtney complains. "I called him but his phone is off."

"How irritating," Bridgette says. Geoff runs up to them.

"This party RULES!" he shouts enthusiastically. He throws Bridgette over his shoulder and carries her to the pool and throws her in.

"Geoff!" she shouts once she has resurfaced. Geoff just cannonballs into the pool next to her, showering water all over Lindsay and Tyler who are making out at the edge of the water. Courtney rolls her eyes and is about to go and talk to Heather when she spots Duncan walking into the party. She purses her lips and marches up to him.

"What took you so long?" she demands.

"I forgot about it," Duncan shrugs.

"That is the worst excuse ever! Seriously, this party is really boring, at least you could've have been here to suffer with me!" Courtney complains.

"No kidding, where is everyone?" he says, looking around.

"That is completely beside the point!" Courtney snaps.

"I'm going to get some food," Duncan says, ignoring Courtney's irritation and walking over to a guy holding a plate of food. Courtney stares after him, outraged and a little put out that he isn't responding to her anger.

* * *

"Katie, this was the whole reason you got me to plan this party, I'm not stupid. Just go and talk to her!" Beth says, giving Katie a push in the direction of Sadie. Katie gives a sigh of resignation and walks over to where Sadie is chatting to Harold.

"Hey Sadie…" Katie starts.

"Katie?" Sadie squeaks in surprise.

"Harold, can you give us a minute?" Katie says.

"Gosh!" says Harold, stalking off.

"So… Sadie… how are you?" Katie asks.

"I'm good, what about you?" Sadie responds nervously. This is the first time the girls have spoken since Sadie was eliminated from Total Drama Ten Years Later, and Sadie isn't really sure where the conversation is going.

"I'm… okay." Katie says. They look at each other then at the ground, standing there in silence. "Okay, I'm lying," Katie finally says. "I'm not okay! I'm totally miserable without you! I don't care anymore that you stole my Justin Bieber t-shirt. I don't even like Justin Bieber anymore! I just want to be friends again!"

"Oh my god, Katie, I thought I'd never hear you say that! I want to be friends again too! It's like we're totally in sync!" Sadie replies.

"Oh my god Sadie, this is exactly like that time on TotalDramaIsland where we had that fight but we made up again!" Katie says.

"Totally! That's exactly what I was thinking!" Sadie gasps.

"Eeeeeeeeeee!" the girls shriek and pull each other into a hug.

"BEST FEMALE FRIENDS FOR LIFE!" Katie squeals.

* * *

Harold sits on a stone bench by himself after being dismissed by Katie. Leshawna sees him sitting alone and goes to join him.

"Hey baby, what's up?" she asks.

"Not much." Harold says shortly.

"Hey, are you still mad about all that stuff that happened at the wedding?" Leshawna questions.

"Kind of. You had no right to tell Duncan about me and Lisa. And trying to kiss me was really out of line. That was really stupid, Leshawna," Harold reprimands.

"I know. But in my defence I was lonely, my boyfriend just dumped me and I had to watch one of my good friends get married to the love her life. I also had a lot to drink," Leshawna explains.

"That's no excuse, Leshawna," Harold shakes his head.

"You're right. But Harold… I know you don't want to hear this but I feel like I need to tell you. I feel like such an idiot that I ever let you get away. I always liked you Harold and I still like you a lot. You were so good to me…"

"It's too late for that Leshawna, I'm with Lisa now," Harold interrupts.

"I know, I know! Just let me finish!" Leshawna says. Harold nods and Leshawna continues. "What I really miss most is your friendship. Do you think you could forgive me?" Leshawna finishes hopefully. Harold looks at her thoughtfully.

"Yeah, that would be awesome," he smiles.

* * *

"Duncan is acting so weird tonight!" Courtney bitches to Heather.

"What kind of weird?" Heather asks, gulping down another glass of wine.

"Just kind of vague and distant. He's barely paid me any attention at all, even when I was yelling at him," Courtney huffs.

"He's probably cheating on you with Gwen," Heather says.

"No he isn't! Can you be a bit more supportive please?" Courtney snaps.

"Sorry! I was just trying to be helpful. Ugh, speaking of things that are disgusting!" Heather slurs.

"What?" Courtney shakes her head, confused. Heather points to the door leading inside, and Courtney turns to see Gwen and Trent enter the party. Duncan is the first to go and greet them.

"Told you," says Heather. Courtney rolls her eyes and goes over to Gwen, Trent and Duncan.

"Hey Gwen, Trent. Where have you guys been? I haven't seen you since Wednesday," Courtney says.

"Well… can you get Bridgette and Geoff? We'd like to tell you all together," Gwen says mysteriously. Courtney raises one eyebrow and looks around for Bridgette and Geoff, seeing that they are still in the pool. Courtney, Duncan, Gwen and Trent walk over to them and sit on the edge of the pool.

"Bridgette!" Courtney calls to her friend. "Gwen and Trent have something to tell us." Bridgette and Geoff swim over and Courtney and Duncan turn to Gwen and Trent.

"So… the reason we haven't been around for the last few days is because… we flew to Peru." Gwen says.

"Uhh… why?" Duncan asks.

"To get married!" Gwen bursts out excitedly, holding out her hand so everyone can see her ring. Her four friends stare at her in shock for a moment before finding their voices.

"Congratulations!"

"Wow, that's fantastic!"

"So unexpected… but great!"

"Cool, man!"

"Thanks guys!" says Trent. "I hope you don't mind that we didn't tell you. Neither of us wanted a huge wedding so we just decided to elope. It was so romantic. Do you want to hear the song I wrote for her?"

"Maybe later…" Duncan grins.

"What's going on over here?" Heather asks, walking over to them.

"Gwen and Trent got married!" Bridgette says excitedly.

"Ugh, great. Now we're all married, welcome to the club!" Heather rolls her eyes.

"We aren't all married," Courtney reminds her icily.

"Well you're the lucky one! Alejandro tried to steal my hosting job from me. He wouldn't have succeeded of course, but Chris managed to steal it anyway!" Heather says grumpily.

"Tragic." Courtney says stonily. "Duncan, I'm over this party, let's go."

"No thanks," Duncan replies.

"But I want to leave!" Courtney whines.

"Well, go then. I'm not stopping you. I'm having a good time." Duncan says. Courtney looks at him with a pained expression on her face, as if to say, 'why are you doing this to me?' The other five look around awkwardly, trying to ignore Courtney and Duncan's conversation.

"Fine." Courtney spits and turns to leave.

"I'll walk you out!" Bridgette says, getting out of the pool. The girls walk to the house in silence. "Are you alright?" Bridgette asks once they're inside and away from the party.

"Yes." Courtney says shortly. They're silent for another moment. "Why am I the last one to get married? It isn't fair." Courtney says sadly. "Is Duncan ever going to propose?"

"I didn't think you were in hurry to get married," Bridgette says.

"I'm not! At least, I wasn't. Stupid Gwen. Her ring wasn't very nice though, was it?" Courtney muses.

"Definitely not," Bridgette laughs. The girls have reached Courtney's car now and they smile at each other. Courtney goes to get into the car when Bridgette stops her. "Courtney…"

"Yeah?" Courtney says worriedly.

"I want to tell you something… Geoff didn't want me to say anything yet, but I just really want to tell you and I trust you not to tell anyone until everything's decided but… Geoff and I are moving to Australia." Bridgette confesses.

"What?" Courtney says, surprised. Bridgette nods. "But that's so far! How will I live without you?" Courtney says, choking up.

"You can come and visit any time! Australia is really nice! And we'll be back in Canada all the time to see my mom and Geoff's family. You don't really have to live without me," Bridgette smiles. "And anyway, that might be a few years off yet, I just wanted to tell you." Courtney nods. They hug before Courtney gets into her car.

"I love you babe!" Bridgette winks. Courtney smiles.

"Love you too, idiot!"

* * *

Somewhere in the drive home, Courtney's smile fades and she remembers how annoyed she is at Duncan. She throws her things on the ground when she walks inside at around eleven o'clock. She decides to go straight to bed, but she puts on her sexiest nightie so that Duncan will know exactly what he's missing out on tonight when he finally gets home. She knows she won't be able to sleep till he gets there so she pulls out a book and starts reading. She checks the clock periodically, getting more and more irritated as it gets later and later. When it gets to 1am she decides to call him and demand that he come home immediately, but she just gets his voicemail. She sighs in frustration and decides to call Heather.

"Ugh, what's wrong?" Heather answers groggily.

"Is Duncan there?" Courtney asks.

"Duncan's your boyfriend, remember?" Heather says. "Not mine."

"He's not there?" Courtney suddenly feels less annoyed and more worried.

"No, I kicked everyone out at midnight. Can I get some sleep now?" Heather snaps. Courtney hangs up. She tries calling Duncan again but still gets his voicemail. With a sick feeling in her stomach she calls Bridgette.

"Hey Court, what's up?" Bridgette says.

"Have you seen Duncan?" Courtney asks.

"Not since we left Heather's at midnight. He said he was going to the stadium for a bit before he went home," Bridgette says. "Is he not home yet?"

"No! He's probably tipped his stupid truck or something dumb and now he's lying trapped under it, dead! That would be so like him!" Courtney rants.

"Why don't you go and check?" Bridgette says calmly. Courtney doesn't even bother replying, just hangs up and starts towards the front door. Realising what she's wearing, she quickly grabs whatever clothes are by the front door, which is her sandals and a jacket of Duncan's, and throws them on. She grabs her keys and races out the door.

When Courtney arrives at the stadium she can see that all the lights are on and Duncan's car is in the carpark, so obviously he's here somewhere. _Or was here. Maybe he was kidnapped. Or murdered. _Courtney continues to think the worst. The entrance that is open is the one where the trucks enter so Courtney goes in that way, assuming that's where Duncan must have gone.

"Duncan?" she calls as she walks onto the grounds. The lights are blinding as she looks up into the empty stands. She sees Duncan's truck, Courtney 2, standing in the middle of the arena so she walks over to it, but Duncan is nowhere in sight. "Duncan?" she calls again.

"Hey, Princess," comes his voice from behind her. Courtney spins around to see Duncan walking towards her. She strides over to him angrily and gives him a shove.

"You complete asshole! Do you know how worried I was?" she yells.

"Whoa, I'm sorry! Can I make it up to you?" he says, holding up the keys to his truck.

"You're going to let me drive it?" Courtney says sceptically. Duncan nods, laughing. Courtney grins and snatches the key from him before he can change his mind.

"Nice outfit by the way," Duncan says. Courtney looks back at him and winks.

"Wait till you see what's underneath it!" she says seductively. Duncan smirks and follows her to the truck, sitting in the passenger side. Courtney starts up the truck and speeds around the arena a few times before driving over some old cars and crushing them. She has a look of pure glee on her face the entire time. Duncan watches her face happily, but eventually he has to stop her.

"Courtney," he says. Once she's finally pulled the truck to a stop and turned off the engine, much to her disappointment. "I was thinking about what you said the other day. About being in this for the long haul…"

"Oh my god, did you let me drive this so I wouldn't get angry when you broke up with me?" Courtney asks, frowning.

"No, of course not! Stop jumping to conclusions and let me finish." He pauses and she doesn't say anything else so he continues. "I wanted to let you know that I am in it for the long haul. I want to be with you more than anything. I love you. So… will you marry me?" Duncan pulls out a little box from his pocket and opens it to reveal a silver engagement ring. The diamonds on it are arranged to look like a rose, and Courtney can safely say that it is _much _nicer than Gwen's.

"Oh my god, yes! Yes, yes, yes!" Courtney grabs Duncan by the front of his shirt and pulls his lips to hers. He starts to kiss her back, before remembering he's still holding the ring. He pulls away and grabs her hand, sliding the ring onto her finger. She admires it for a moment before going right back to making out with him. Duncan laughs as she kisses him hungrily and pulls herself onto his lap so she's straddling him.

"Do I get to see what's under here now?" Duncan smirks, grabbing a piece of the silky material covering not that much of her body.

"You know it," Courtney giggles, throwing it to the floor of the truck.

**Note - Okay I decided this is the last chapter for this story. I don't have the inspiration or motivation to write it anymore which means that my writing just really isn't that great. But I've tried to tie up all loose ends. Thanks for reading!**


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